


An Hourglass of Stars

by HomuraBakura



Category: Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's, Yu-Gi-Oh! GX
Genre: Angst, Blood, Canon Divergence, Crossover, Encroaching Apocalypse, F/M, Fake Yu-Gi-Oh Cards, Fluff, Later Smut, M/M, Panic Attacks, Plot-heavy, Slow Burn, Time Travel
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-04-29
Updated: 2018-09-11
Packaged: 2018-09-21 12:11:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 59
Words: 262,459
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9548489
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HomuraBakura/pseuds/HomuraBakura
Summary: When an unconscious Judai appears mysteriously in front of Yusei, Yusei has more questions than answers. And when Judai awakes and remembers little of how he got there himself, the mystery only deepens. Now, with the WRGP already close on their heels, Judai will team up with Yusei to fight this new threat - but what was the reason for Judai's appearance in the first place?[ported from FF.Net cause Ao3 is nicer]





	1. Horologium

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Kuuvak](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kuuvak/gifts).



Falling. He was falling again. Wait…who was falling? Himself or…

No. No, wait. Not this time, it can't be this time, no, no, no, he promised, he promised that this time he would make it okay, that this time he would fix things, that _this time, this time, THIS TIME—_

_I…_

Spinning. Spinning, spinning, spinning, he was so dizzy, when would it stop, when was he going to be able to stop.

_I'm…_

Go back. He had to go back. Start over. This time—

_I'm…sorry…_

No.

Not this time.

Please, not this time.

_I'm sorry…_

… _Yusei…_

Everything stopped. Again.

The sand in the hourglass froze.

Slowly, slowly, the grains of stars inside the glass began to float upwards.

This time.

 


	2. Sagitta

It was way too hot for the season.

Yusei let out a heavy sigh, wiping at his brow with the back of his arm, trying to avoid smearing motor oil on his face. He had long since dropped his jacket, opting for just his greasy, torn up tank top. He kind of wanted to change into shorts, too, but he knew better than to try and work on this machine without long pants…at least the thick denim could protect him from most of the damage when he inevitably dropped his wrench on his leg.

The garage was flung open in a futile attempt to get some air moving through the sweltering basement room. Yusei had dragged the Yusei-Go outside, trying to figure out what exactly was the problem with his engine. He had been trying to create a better engine program for months, but that wasn't the problem. Something in the Momentum gears had been acting up, and if he didn't get that fixed the whole thing could explode under him if he tried to accelerate—that was definitely the last thing he needed.

He sighed again, slumping back on to his hands. He really didn't want to do this right now…it was just too _hot_. His shirt was sticking uncomfortably to his chest, and hair felt practically drenched with sweat. All he wanted to do was dive into a cold shower for the next three hours.

With the heat radiating off the ground in mirage-like waves, he felt his mind wandering. He could hear the distant noises of people talking and laughing in the square up above, the sound of dishes clinking softly at the nearby outdoor cafe, the faint noise of the television inside the garage, where Crow had sprawled himself out on the couch to melt. Jack was probably at that cafe again. Yusei wasn't sure where Bruno had gone; he seemed to recall the other man saying something about getting some better tools at the department store just a few blocks down, but even then, the heat had been so bad that Yusei had barely been able to focus on what he was saying.

He let his head fall against his chest and closed his eyes. It was too hot, there was too much to do, and he didn't want to move from this spot unless it meant getting cooled down. He had another engine program to write, the previous one having been stolen by Yeager. There were strategies to test, decks to build, cards to seek out for better strategizing, paperwork to finish up for the WRGP, and a million robot duelists hidden somewhere in the city. And it was only _yesterday_ that Yusei had returned from stopping time itself from breaking down around them. Paradox was dealt with, but what about the next challenge he had to face? There were a million and one things fighting for attention in his brain, but with the heat melting through his mind, he didn't want to think about any of them.

His D-Wheel sparked violently.

Yusei jumped. He swore as a light dusting of sparks scattered across his arms and _burned_. He scrambled up to his feet and took a few steps back from the machine. What—what the hell was it doing?

The engine was spinning. Momentum was glowing and rippling—it should only be doing that while he was moving, not while it was just standing there. It wasn't even turned on!!

Yusei swore again as another flurry of sparks exploded from the engine.

“Crow!” he shouted. “Crow, get over here, I need you to look at this!”

He received only a faint moan in response.

“ _Crow!_ ”

The glow was getting stronger—brighter. He could _feel_ waves of heat radiating off of it. It must be getting really, really hot if he could feel it against the already intolerable heat. Somewhere in the distance, he thought he heard the rumble of thunder. His frazzled mind immediately jumped to _“what was the weather supposed to be today?”_ and then his engine _exploded._

“SHIT!”

He threw his arms up in front of his face. It wasn't a real explosion, he realized then, just a sudden flare of bright, rippling light that sent waves of heat into his face. He stumbled back, blinded, and hit the ground.

“Yusei? Yusei, what happened?!”

He could hear Crow's feet scrabbling across the ground, but he still couldn't see. Yusei blinked several times, coughing—there was smoke leaking from his engine now, he realized. Shit. Why had Momentum reacted like that??

His vision was starting to clear, now. He could still hear Crow trying to make his way around the couch, swearing as he stubbed his toe on the scattered D-Wheel pieces,

And then Crow swore again, and Yusei had a feeling it had nothing to do with pieces of machinery on the floor.

“Holy fucking shit,” Crow said. “Where did—”

Yusei could see now. And he knew exactly what Crow was reacting to.

“J-Judai?”

The boy was just standing there in front of him, between Yusei and the D-Wheel. The red jacket, the upturned brown hair, it was unmistakable even with his back to Yusei.

At the sound of Yusei's voice, Judai's shoulders flinched. The boy spun around—brown eyes wide, mouth hanging open, face pale and drawn.

“Y-Yusei,” he muttered.

For a moment, his hands reached vaguely forward, mouth moving silently. A collection of emotions seemed to be battling for dominance in his eyes: terror, relief, desperation. Then his eyes rolled up and he collapsed forward, landing against Yusei's chest. Yusei flinched a little, but managed to keep his seat.

“Judai! _Judai!_ ”

What was he doing here? What happened—how had he gotten here? And—and what had happened to him? That—that face he had made, simultaneously relieved at seeing Yusei and desperate about something else, like he had been trying to say something but _couldn't—_

“What the hell? Is he okay? Where'd he come from? Holy _shit_ ,” said Crow, running over. “What happened? You know this kid?”

“Y-yeah,” Yusei said.

He forgot about the heat, forgot about all the other things that had been running through his head, right now, Judai was lying unconscious against him and something was very, very wrong.

“Crow, we have to get him to a hospital, or something, I don't—I don't know what's wrong.”

Crow swore again, and nodded.

“I'll go call the ambulance,” he said. “Like…move him to the couch or something and maybe get him some ice.”

“Right.”

It was hot—too hot.

Yusei struggled to pull Judai into his arms as Crow ran back for the phone. He managed to pull Judai up and hefted him towards the couch.

He stole a small glance at the boy's face, eyes closed, breathing irregularly, as though he had just run for several miles.

 _He still looks scared_ , Yusei realized with a start. _Like he's having a terrible dream._

Something that could make the cheerful, confident Judai he remembered scared? What on earth could that be…?

 _And why…_ Yusei thought, as he settled Judai onto the couch and jogged towards the kitchen for an ice pack. _Did he seem to want to tell me something?_  


	3. Pyxis

“Nnngh…”

Falling. He was falling. He was falling and spinning and dizzy and oh, God, where was he going, was he aimed right, why—why was he going? He couldn't _remember—_

“Judai?”

The soft voice broke through the rush of confusion in his head. He recognized that voice—Yusei. It was Yusei's soft, calm voice, calling through the darkness to him. But why…why was Yusei here? He was from years in the future, why…?

Another wave of panic crashed over him. For a moment, images swirled in his mind, fought to be in front of his vision, scrabbled for a foothold in his memories, screaming, screaming, _screaming—_

_Remember. You have to remember dammit, you have to remember why—_

His opened his eyes and groaned at the light. It was too damn _bright_. He threw his arm over his eyes for a moment.

“Judai? Are you awake?”

Judai shifted his arm so that he could see, but still block out most of the light. He squinted, vision blurring for a moment. Yeah that was—Yusei—

“ _Yusei—_ ”

He snapped straight up, words jumping to the tip of his tongue, something he had to say, _desperately—_

Dizziness overtook him. He felt his stomach heave and almost fell over again. He fell instead against Yusei's arm, his hand propping him up.

“Breathe, Judai. Just breathe for a moment. Are you okay?”

No, no, he didn't have time to breathe, he had to—had to what?

The panic subsided, slowly. The flurry of confusing images faded from his mind. Whatever he had been about to say died on his tongue.

“Uuugh…what hit me?” Judai moaned. “Yusei…? What are you doing here?”

“I was going to ask you that, actually…are you feeling all right? Hang on, let me get you some water…the paramedic thought you might have had heat exhaustion.”

Yusei carefully leaned Judai back down against the arm of the couch. Judai heard his boots squeak as he stood up and walked across the floor.

By now, his dizziness had completely faded, and he felt…actually perfectly fine. Judai blinked a few times, readjusting to the light. He glanced around with a frown.

He was laying down on an old, kind of beat up couch in the middle of a medium-sized room. His jacket was gone, and he was just in his tank top and jeans. A quick glance around told him that his jacket was flung across the back of the couch. He wasn't complaining, it was pretty hot in here despite the distant hum of an air conditioner.

The floor was concrete, and there was a television set up across from the couch. To the left of the couch was a small kitchenette and a dining table with a bunch of mismatched chairs. A ladder led up to a slightly higher level with a railing, like the loft in a barn. Stairs ran up the wall behind him towards a door where the orange light of sunset was filtering through, and then from that landing, a second set of stairs led up to another door…to a second floor, maybe? To the right of the couch was what appeared to be a garage, shelves of tools and wires and pieces lining the walls, a computer and desk tucked in between two particularly full shelving units. Three motorcycles sat in a neat row at the back of this section, in front of what appeared to be a sliding garage door.

A young man with blue hair sat in front of the computer, looking curiously over at Judai from his swivel chair. Judai kind of raised his hand in an awkward greeting, and the man half smiled back. He seemed like he might say something, but Yusei returned then with a glass of water.

“Can you sit up?” he asked in that calm, quiet voice of his.

“Yeah, I think so.”

He moved slowly, in case the dizziness came back, but he felt totally fine. He accepted the offered glass of water with a smile, and found that he was incredibly thirsty. He downed the whole glass in one go.

“Wow. I really needed that…thanks.”

“Not a problem,” said Yusei, smiling as he took the glass back. “Are you feeling okay?”

“Yeah, actually…don't know what came over me before.”

He frowned as he looked around the room again.

“So…where am I?”

“This is the place I'm renting with Crow and Jack,” Yusei said.

He walked back over to the kitchenette to set the glass down on the counter as he talked.

“So…wait, I'm in…your time?”

“Yeah.”

Judai stared down at his knees for a moment. But…how? And when? And why?

“Do you…know how you got here?” Yusei asked.

Judai hesitated. For a moment, the memory danced out of reach…and then it disappeared.

“No,” he said. “I feel like…I did know? But it's gone. I can't…remember.”

Yusei frowned. He moved back over to stand in front of Judai, brow furrowed slightly.

“When you appeared…you looked worried,” he said. “Nothing's wrong…is it?”

Judai bit his lip. _Again_ , something seemed to flutter in his mind, just barely out of reach of his memory. If he could just _remember_ …

“I don't know…I think—I think I knew something was wrong but…for some reason I can't remember.”

He thought harder, pushing against the memory. Something—something was important, there was something he _had_ to remember, something he had to say, he could remember the desperation from before, but for the life of him, he couldn't remember _why_ he had been so desperate. It had—it definitely had something to do with Yusei. He could remember a twinge of relief at seeing Yusei's face as though…as though…

“Ugh,” he said, dropping his head into his hands. He shook his head. “I'm sorry, Yusei…I can't remember. I don't know what's wrong with me.”

“It's fine. Don't push it. What _is_ the last thing you remember, though?”

Judai paused for a moment. He raised his head and stared at the ceiling, thinking.

“I…I remember battling Paradox. And then I remember we were headed back to my time. After that…I don't remember anything.”

Yusei frowned.

“Judai…that was just _yesterday_ for me…and I remember dropping you back off in your time, in Venice. Are you saying you don't remember that?”

Judai had to shake his head, blushing slightly. He felt stupid, all of a sudden—why couldn't he remember? He remembered feeling really, really desperate, like there was something really important that he had to say, had to do but now…nothing. His brain was empty; it was like it had just been wiped clean.

Something must be very, very wrong.

“Oy, is he awake finally??”

The drawling voice pulled Judai out of his reverie, and he looked up to see a young man in the top level of the room, leaning over the railing. His shock of orange hair was pulled up into a frizz with a headband, and golden marks similar to Yusei's lined his face.

“Yo,” he said, sending Judai a two fingered salute. “So you're Judai, huh? Yusei told me about ya. Nice to meet ya.”

“R-right,” Judai said, blinking. “I…nice to meet you too.”

Once again, the feeling of dread and uncertainty had faded away. He thought that maybe it was gone for good this time…whatever had brought him here, he had forgotten it. That worried him, but…there was nothing he could do about it at this moment. He would have to do some more investigations later, once he had figured out…well, everything else.

“I'm Crow, by the way,” the other boy said, as he came around the railing and slid down the ladder without using the rungs. He landed lightly, almost gracefully, the motions seeming somehow out of line with his otherwise kind of blunt voice and appearance.

He walked over to the pair of them with a grin and stuck out his hand. Judai hesitated a brief, confused moment before he took the offered hand and shook—Crow had a very firm grip, almost like he was testing how tightly Judai could squeeze back. Half smiling, Judai took him up on the silent challenge.

“Wow!” Crow said, laughing as he took his hand back and shook it. “He's got quite a grip! I like this friend of yours, Yusei.”

Yusei smiled a bit, looked vaguely exasperated.

“So that's Crow,” Yusei said, nodding. “And over there is Bruno…he's staying with us as well.”

Judai looked over at the quiet blue-haired man. He smiled and nodded at Bruno, who nodded back.

“And Jack is probably skulking around outside or something,” Crow said. “Probably still mad I ate his cup ramen…OY! JACK! GET IN HERE AND MEET JUDAI-SAN!”

There was a thump and a swear from outside, and then the door at the top of the stairs flew open.

“For the love of—you don't have to shout, dammit! I can hear you just _fine,_ Crow!”

At the top of the stairs, a scowling blond man appeared, his white coat fluttering around his legs. His violet eyes shot daggers at the grinning Crow as he stalked down the stairs.

“And that's Jack,” Yusei said, barely hiding his smile. “Jack, meet Judai.”

“Yo,” Judai said. “Nice to meet you.”

Jack just half-scowled at Judai, glaring at him from under his blond bangs. However, there was an edge of curiosity behind that glare that Judai picked up on instantly, interest sparking in the back of his eyes.

“Yusei's told me a bit about you,” said Jack, finally.

“Good things, I hope,” Judai said, only half-joking.

“Interesting things, that's for sure!” Crow said. “You and him and the famous Yugi Mutou took down a time-traveling nutjob and saved time! That's pretty intense!”

“You duel, then?” said Jack, the interest growing in his eyes.

Judai grinned.

“Yeah. I went to Duel Academy, I should be able to duel…I mean, I graduated bottom of the class, but that's just cause I didn't do my homework. Bet I could give you a run for your money.”

Jack made a huffing, irritated sound, as though he were offended by Judai's words. But Judai thought he saw a hint of respect deepen the corner around his eyes, and Judai knew that he had, at the very least, won Jack over for the time being with his confidence.

Judai turned his attention back to Yusei.

“So…I guess I oughta ask. What year is it?”

“It's 2045,” said Yusei.

Judai let out a low whistle.

“Wow…I certainly have come a long way, haven't I? Last I checked it was 2011.”

“Geez,” said Crow. “And you don't know how you got here? Did it have something to do with that Paradox dude?”

Judai shook his head.

“Don't think so. We took care of him, right, Yusei?”

Yusei nodded quietly.

“And it seems that our memories of what happened after don't coincide,” he said, frowning. “You don't remember me dropping you back off?”

“Nope. Last I remember, I was getting back on the bike with you…don't even remember entering the time stream again…”

A silence fell over the small group. What else was there to say? Judai was from almost thirty years ago and there was no explanation for his appearance. Wow. He should just be glad that everyone was taking this so well. He guessed they had seen some pretty intense stuff themselves.

“Are you sure you're still feeling all right?” Yusei asked, frowning again. “You looked pretty bad when you arrived…the paramedics came by and said it must have been heat exhaustion but…”

Judai tilted his head back and forth a few times. No dizziness came over him. He didn't even feel nauseous.

“Yup. I feel pretty good, actually. Just…really confused. Dunno what to do now…if I don't remember how I got here, how am I gonna get back…?”

“Maybe there was a reason you came here,” Bruno said.

Everyone glanced over at him. It was the first thing Bruno had said since Judai had woken up, and Judai was surprised at how…odd his voice sounded. There was something like…a reverberation to his words at the back of Judai's ears, like the mechanical hum of a running laptop. Maybe he was just imagining it.

“What're you talkin' about?” Crow said.

“I'm saying that there's probably a reason that Judai's shown up,” said Bruno, frowning slightly. “I mean…considering all that's been happening here, and the way he acted when he appeared that you described to me…perhaps there is something important that you came here to do.”

Judai blinked.

“But wouldn't I remember something like that?”

Bruno hesitated. Then he shook his head slowly.

“I'm not sure,” he said. “But time travel is…very theoretical. I wouldn't believe in its possibility if Yusei hadn't done it. It _is_ possible, however, that the transfer wiped your memories.”

“But wouldn't Yusei have forgotten stuff too, then?” Crow said. “And Paradox?”

Jack grunted in agreement.

“Not necessarily. Yusei was lucky. He had the Crimson Dragon shielding and guiding him. Paradox—Paradox comes from decades in the future, as far as we know. Technology might have progressed enough to negate the memory altering effects of the time stream.”

Bruno frowned.

“But this is all speculation. I won't know without the technology itself…and we don't know what Judai used to send himself here.”

Judai swore softly. Then he sighed and leaned back against the couch, feeling tired all of a sudden.

“Dammit,” he said. “I'm sorry, Yusei. I wish I could remember…”

“It's not your fault,” Yusei said.

Judai smiled, but closed his eyes so that Yusei wouldn't see his frustration. Dammit. This was his fault. If something bad was going to happen and he had sent himself here to warn them, why couldn't he remember? He was a dumbass—he should have thought things through better before he sent himself wheeling through time.

He felt a light touch on his shoulder then, and fingers squeezing gently.

“It's _okay_ , Judai,” Yusei said. “It's okay. Whatever you came here to do…I'm sure you will remember, if it's important.”

Judai opened his eyes. Yusei was still squeezing his shoulder, smiling gently, his deep blue eyes meeting Judai's. Judai managed a real smile this time. Man. Yusei was pretty good at this comforting people stuff, wasn't he? There was just something about the sound of his voice, the cast of his eyes that made Judai feel calmer.

“Thanks,” he said. “Still…sorry about this.”

Yusei just smiled, and squeezed his shoulder one more time before drawing away.

“Well, until then…Jack, Crow, Bruno. You don't mind if Judai stays here a while, do you?”

“Oh, wait, I don't wanna intrude…”

Jack cut him off with a snort and a large shrug of his shoulders.

“I have no issue with it,” he said.

“Yeah! I wanna see how they dueled thirty years ago,” Crow said. “You're gonna have to go a round or two with me. Did they have D-Wheelers back then?”

“Um…”

“We have the space, it should be fine,” Bruno said, nodding.

“Wait, guys…”

“Judai,” Yusei said firmly.

Judai glanced up at Yusei. The blue-eyed young man smiled.

“Seriously, Judai,” he said. “Do you have anywhere else to go? It's 2045.”

Judai smiled, a bit sheepishly.

“I guess…not. …Thanks.”

Yusei's smile widened; his eyes softened.

“It's going to be fine,” he said. “We'll find a way to get you back home.”

Judai glanced around the room, meeting each pair of eyes—Jack's gruff but interested ones, Crow's excited ones, Bruno's thoughtful ones, and finally, stopping on Yusei's kind, welcoming ones.

“Geez,” Judai said. “Well, if I was gonna jump times, I guess I picked the right time to show up. Thanks for having me, guys.”

And then his stomach growled very, very loudly.

A blush crept up the sides of his face to his ears.

“Umm…oops,” he said.

Crow laughed—an abrupt, guffawing sound.

“I guess time travel makes people hungry!” he said. “Reminds me, I gotta be making dinner; it's my turn tonight, right? I'll whip somethin' up!”

“Make Jack help you,” Yusei said. “Bruno and I need to finish this simulation.”

“Hell no, Jack's coming nowhere _near_ the stove. You can just set the table.”

Jack scowled.

“I'm not a servant!”

“You're not a king anymore either, dumbass, get over yourself and set the damn table.”

“Um, you want me to help…?” Judai said. “I'm not a bad cook…”

Crow was already walking towards the kitchen and pulling out an apron, throwing it over his neck and moving to tie the strings.

“Nah, not tonight. Thanks though, I'll take you up on that later, probably. You wanna wash up or anything, though? Bathroom's up the stairs. It was a scorcher today; you'll probably feel better.”

Judai blushed a little…he did feel pretty hot and sweaty. But he felt bad for not helping out…they were taking him in and he wasn't doing anything.

Yusei seemed to notice Judai's uncertainty. He patted Judai on the shoulder gently.

“It's fine,” he said. “You just got here. Don't worry; we'll definitely be asking for your help eventually…but please, it's probably best for you to take it easy for now. Even if you say you feel fine…”

“Okay, fine,” Judai said, still blushing. “Upstairs, right?”

**. . .**

**Judai** sighed as the water washed down the drain of the sink, feeling one hundred percent better. He had wiped off most of the sweat and splashed his face a few extra times just to feel like he was a little cleaner. He wasn't quite keen on the idea of using the shower yet, already feeling like he was imposing on everyone.

He grabbed a towel and rubbed his face into it. The material was soft, and he pressed into it for a moment, breathing through the thick cloth.

After a moment, he reached out gently with his mind.

“…Yubel?”

She reacted immediately to the gentle probe. He could feel her soul shift somewhere deep inside of him, her presence growing to spread through his veins.

— _I'm here—_

Judai sighed with relief. With all the commotion, he hadn't had a chance to check in on her…and he had been half worried that somehow, she would be gone.

“Thank the gods,” he muttered. “You okay?”

— _I'm fine, thank you. I thought it best to hang back for a few moments while you spoke with the others—_

“Probably a good idea.”

He hesitated. He let the towel drop from his face, staring at himself in the mirror. His eyes glowed back at him, one orange, one green, as they tended to do when he was speaking with Yubel and her presence became more prominent. He could feel her scales and claws crawling just below his skin, her wings shifting in his back, the memory of fangs in his mouth. All it took was a touch of his mind to let that half of him that was her become more prominent, to turn himself from the ordinary human in the mirror to a half-demon. Sometimes, he wondered if his form with Yubel's more clear presence was his real form, and this human form was just a shell that he used to hide it. It wouldn't be surprising. They had, of course, fused completely. They were less a pair of souls and more a singular entity…it was something he was still wrapping his mind around.

“Yubel,” he said. “Do you…do you remember what happened? How did we get here?”

It was a desperate hope—and it fell through, as he had expected. He could feel her uncertainty filter through him, affecting his own state of mind, making him feel more uneasy.

— _I…I do not know. I have no more memories than you do. I remember returning to the D-Wheeler with Fudo Yusei. I do not remember re-entering the time stream, and I do not remember returning to our own time. There is…a blank. Just a period of darkness—_

“That's what I was afraid of,” Judai muttered.

For a moment, their emotions swirled together as one in their shared mind. Uneasiness…uncertainty.

— _Something is wrong. That much I know—_

“Yeah. You and me both.”

— _And…and I know one other thing—_

Judai hesitated. He already knew what she was going to say, they shared the same thought almost at the same time. But he still asked anyway.

“What is that?”

Yubel hesitated. She didn't want to say it any more than Judai wanted to acknowledge it.

— _We came back for Yusei. Because Yusei…is in so much danger—_

Judai swallowed.

Yeah.

He had known that much too.


	4. Corvus

Yusei woke up with a bad taste in his mouth. For a moment, his brain was fuzzy and his vision was blurry, like sleep was trying to drag him back down. He couldn't go back to sleep, though, he had a job to do today over in the Tops and he needed to get ready to go ahead.

He blinked through the blur, groaning slightly as he fumbled for his phone to check the time. The grogginess was taking much longer to clear than usual. As though he had had some odd dream that refused to release his hold on him. He rarely remembered his dreams, though, so he couldn't remember what nighttime hallucination was causing this ridiculous grogginess.

Finally, the blur faded from his eyes, and his fingers wrapped around his phone. He sat up in bed, blinking a few more times.

Oh. It was only five in the morning. Dammit. He easily could have slept for another hour or so. Now that he was awake, though, he knew he wouldn't be able to get back to sleep. He sighed, letting his head drop to his chest for a moment. Still so tired. But he had troubles sleeping in the first place. Once he was up and awake…that was it.

He sat there for a few moments, just listening to the quiet of the house. Crow was snoring in his bed just a few feet away, practically falling off the bed with his head hanging off the side. Yusei had to smile at that. Crow could sleep through anything, and in any position. Yusei kind of envied him. Jack slept just about as fitfully as Yusei did; Yusei often heard him tossing and turning and swearing under his breath in the night. Right now, however, he was fast asleep, his breaths soft and calm. It wasn't often that his face looked so peaceful. It almost looked wrong, to not have that constant disgruntled look on his face.

Yusei smiled slightly at his two friends. Bruno was sleeping on the pull out couch downstairs, and it would probably be a few hours before he woke up. Of all of them, Bruno slept the best. Didn't even seem to have to try to fall asleep, and he always seemed to sleep the exact same amount of time, like clockwork. He wouldn't be up until seven thirty. And Judai was in the guest room; Zora had been kind enough to let them use the extra room, even though they weren't technically paying enough rent to cover it. She was a very kind lady, Yusei thought. They had gotten quite lucky to have a landlord as welcoming as her, especially when two of the boys in her house bore criminal markers and nearly blew up the garage every day with their engine work.

Well. He might as well go get a shower taken care of. And then probably some coffee…he was going to need it.

Yusei pushed off the bed, careful not to let it squeak too much. Crow might sleep through it, but Jack so rarely slept so peacefully, and Yusei was loathe to wake him up. He walked softly out of the room towards the bathroom.

The cold shower helped him wake up. He stood under the spray for perhaps a bit longer than was necessary. Even now, six months later, he still treasured the novelty of having access to a shower. In Satellite, you were lucky to get sprayed off during a rain shower. Martha had drawn up water from the harbor and boiled it for hours before she deemed it safe enough to use for cleaning kids, and even then, it had just been mostly a wipe down with the cleanest clothes Martha could find. The smell had often been pretty intense.

He finally turned off the water and stepped out to towel off, reaching for his pants and jacket as he did so. He was still rubbing down his hair as he walked down the stars towards the kitchenette.

He was surprised to find that the light was already on.

“…Judai?”

Judai jumped a little, making his chair bounce. He grimaced and caught the offending piece of furniture before it made more noise, eyes flicking towards where Bruno was asleep on the pull out couch.

“Don't worry. He'll sleep through an earthquake,” Yusei said, smiling reassuringly. “Are you okay?”

Judai looked like he hadn't slept a wink. There were dark bags under his glazed brown eyes, and there was a sluggish hint to his movements, as Yusei noted in the markedly slow way that he had reacted to the moving chair.

“Yeah, I'm fine,” he said. “I didn't…wake you up, did I?”

“I didn't even know you were awake. So no.”

He frowned, looking over the other boy.

Judai was not quite as tall as Yusei, and Yusei had a hard time placing his age. He couldn't be any older than…seventeen? Eighteen? Yusei himself had just turned nineteen fairly recently, and there was no way Judai could be older than that. His two-toned brown hair was a mess of bedhead currently, the normal flip in the back kind of sagging. He had a lot of cowlicks sticking up all over the place, and besides the dark circles, his dark eyes seemed somehow more dead than they should be, as though he were half asleep right there.

“Are you sure you're okay?” Yusei asked. “I hate to say it…but you don't look very good. Did you not sleep well? The bed wasn't uncomfortable, I hope.”

“No, no, that's not it, definitely not,” Judai said quickly. “Bed was great. More comfortable than where I'm used to sleeping, to be honest. Normally, I sleep in buses…or under bridges.”

He half laughed at that, but it was a hollow sound. A hasty attempt to inject humor into the situation and deflect other questions. It wasn't going to work on Yusei. He frowned.

“Judai. I don't want you to feel like you can't talk to me. I know…I know we don't know each other very well, yet, but I think of you as my friend. We fought together, and now, you're staying with us…I want you to be comfortable. Is there anything I can do? Are you all right?”

Judai hesitated. Yusei kept his gaze on Judai's, although Judai kept dropping his eyes.

“It wasn't anything you did,” Judai said, finally. “I just…I don't sleep well. That's all. I have…a lot of nightmares.”

He let his gaze slide away to the wall then. Yusei nodded. He wouldn't press. Not now.

“I'm sorry to hear that,” he said. “That must be hard.”

Judai shrugged.

“You get used to it,” he said, quietly.

Yusei frowned. He didn't like the sound of resignation in Judai's voice. Where was that cheerful, confident Judai that he had met before? Or had that been the real Judai? Which one was…the default, he supposed?

It occurred to him then that he really didn't know anything about Judai at all. They had only met once before.

“Well…can I make you some coffee?”

“I don't wanna bother you…”

“Judai. Really.”

Judai blushed a little.

“Sure. Thanks. But only if you were going to make some yourself.”

“I was,” Yusei said, walking over to the coffee machine with an exasperated smile, “but I would have made you some anyway if I wasn't.”

A silence fell over them as the coffee machine began to percolate. Nothing but the bubble of the machine, and the slight creaking of the couch when Bruno shifted, made a noise between them.

“So,” Judai said hesitantly. “How long have you lived here?”

“About six months,” Yusei said. “We're renting…you met Zora last night when we asked about the room. Remember her?”

Judai nodded. It had been a rather brief exchange, as it had been getting late. Zora had been charmed by Judai's politeness, so that had probably been why it had gone so smoothly.

“Have you and the others been together long, then?”

Yusei smiled slightly.

“For the most part…yes. Bruno moved in with us just a few days ago, at the request of some friends of ours…he has amnesia, and he's staying here helping me with the engine program until he can figure out where he came from.”

Judai nodded, glancing over at the sleeping young man.

“Jack and Crow and I…we've been together much longer,” Yusei said.

He pushed a mug under the coffee machine and let it fill up. He placed it on the counter.

“Do you put anything in it?”

“Nah. Not usually.”

Yusei nodded as his own mug filled up, and then he took both mugs and came over to the table, handing Judai his mug across the table before sitting down himself. Judai accepted the mug with a smile.

Yusei took another sip before he thought about continuing his story.

“The three of us grew up in Satellite,” he said.

“Is that a town?”

Right, Yusei thought. Judai wouldn't know. He came from an entirely different time, a different era. One where Satellite didn't exist. For a moment, Yusei almost envied him, but the feeling passed.

“It's…it _was_ a ghetto,” he said softly. “It broke off from the City during a really big…disaster. People there weren't considered citizens, and we weren't allowed to leave.”

Judai's fingers tightened slightly on his mug. It was almost imperceptible, but Yusei noted it.

“That's ridiculous,” he said, looking up at Yusei. “How did something like that…”

He stopped, and shook his head.

“Forget I asked. Humans are stupid, that's the answer,” he said. “I'm sorry. I hope I didn't…bring up any bad memories.”

Yusei shrugged. He didn't really harbor any bad feelings about his days in Satellite. Terrible they had been, yes, but there had been plenty of spots of light. And he had grown up there so it wasn't like he had anything to compare it to, really.

“It's fine,” he said. “I don't mind. It's connected to the City, now. And we can all be citizens now…”

He scratched at his marker, a habit that he should probably try to break. It had an odd, smooth feeling, like it was made up of a tiny batch of circuits imprinted on his skin. Which, technically, it was.

“So…you guys grew up together?” Judai said. “Guess that explains why you all seem so close.”

Yusei smiled. Judai seemed to have picked up on that pretty easily. He must be good at reading people.

“Yeah. It certainly wasn't boring with those two around…”

He hesitated. There had been major rough spots with all of them…but, he didn't want to get into it right now.

“What about you?” Yusei asked, setting his mug down. “Tell me…more about your time.”

Judai cocked his head.

“Kinda broad question there…anything in particular you want me to say about it?”

Yusei laughed softly.

“Well, where do you live, in your time? Who do you stay with? Did you say recently that you sleep under _bridges_?”

Judai had to laugh at that.

“Yeah, well, it's drier under there when it rains,” he said, good-naturedly. “You could call me a transient, I guess. I don't stay in one place for too long.”

He sipped at his coffee.

“After I graduated, I just kinda…took off. Headed out to see what I could find. Left off in Venice, as I'm sure you remember.”

That brought a wry smile to Yusei's face.

“Yes, and I think I recall it dissolving into nonexistence during my last visit,” he said. “How did you end up in Venice, though? You're from Japan, aren't you?”

“Yeah. I might've stowed away on a ship to get to the mainland. Don't make much money wandering, you know? And then I hitchhiked my way across to Europe. Was planning on heading up towards Finland after Venice…friend of mine lives up there.”

It was something Yusei could barely imagine. Just…jumping from place to place, without thinking too hard about where he was going next. Before, he had expected to live his entire life out in Satellite. Now, he was tied up with his mechanic work and preparing for the WRGP. For a moment, his mind wandered to the possibility of seeing what was outside the City. What _was_ out there that he could go and explore someday?

“It sounds amazing,” he said, quietly.

Judai shrugged.

“It has its moments,” he said. “Don't recommend sleeping on the ground too often, though. Puts such a crick in your back.”

He laughed a little at that, and cracked his back for effect. Yusei smiled into his mug as he gulped down the last drops of coffee, which had gotten a bit cold. Well…they had been talking for quite a while, hadn't they?

He checked the clock and was surprised to find that it was almost six thirty. He had told the manager of Tops that he would be there at seven fifteen. He should get his stuff together.

“I'm going to have to go do some work,” he said, standing up and taking the empty mugs away.

“Oh, cool. What do you do?”

“I'm a mechanic…I fix machines. Today I need to work with some air conditioning.”

Judai let out a low whistle.

“That's pretty cool. Never was really good with wires and things. How long you gonna be gone?”

“Hmmm…could be a few hours.”

He rinsed the mugs and left them in the sink. He thought briefly about grabbing something to eat, but couldn't stomach the thought of eating so early, so decided against it. He would grab lunch on the way home. He thought then that he should probably explain what the usual plan was for the day to Judai—he was from an entirely different time period, and Yusei hated to leave him alone right now, but there was nothing he could do. He had to hope that Judai would be okay with taking care of himself for a while.

“Crow has a job with a delivery service, and he'll be leaving at around eight. He probably won't be awake until fifteen minutes before, though, and will be rushing around. Bruno usually gets up at seven thirty and will probably make some breakfast, if you're hungry. Then he tends to spend most of the day working on the engine program.”

“Sounds good. What about Atlas-san?”

Yusei had to smile at Judai's awkward formality.

“Jack doesn't have a job, unfortunately. He'll probably leave at around nine anyway. I have no idea what he does with his time, to be honest. I'll definitely be back by one, though…you're welcome to anything in the fridge, and of course if you want to explore the City at all, go ahead.”

Judai nodded. It was obvious in his expression that he had been thinking about the possibility.

“Oh,” Judai said. “Do you have a phone? I checked mine; apparently it still works in this time period. Can I get your number in case I get lost?”

Yusei nodded; it was a good idea. Judai slid his phone across the table, and Yusei traded him. They plugged each other's numbers in and then gave each other's phones back.

“Cool,” Judai said. “I probably won't be out long, though…cities wear on me quickly.”

“I put Crow's and Bruno's numbers in there too…in case you can't get a hold of me for some reason.”

“Thanks.”

Judai glanced down at the phone for a few moments. He frowned slightly, but it faded as he tucked the phone away in his jacket. Yusei checked the time again—he should probably get going.

“I'll be back as soon as I can,” he said.

Judai shrugged.

“Don't rush yourself…it's fine. Thanks for worrying about me—I know that's why you're saying that, but I promise, I'm not gonna get too mixed up, even if this is a whole other time for me. I'll be fine. It's okay.”

Yusei felt a blush creep across his cheeks for a moment. He had been a little too over-worried, hadn't he?

“Well, I'll still come back as soon as I can,” he said. “And then we can try to figure out what brought you here.”

“Sounds good. Have fun with your job.”

Yusei smiled, nodded once, and then walked across to his D-Wheel. He popped his helmet on and mounted, glancing one more time at Judai to wave before he revved the engine. Judai waved back, and Yusei opened the garage, zipping out into the warm summer morning.

. . .

So now, Judai had an entire morning to himself…and he had no idea what to do with it.

Things had played out just as Yusei had informed him they would. Bruno woke up at exactly seven thirty, made a huge pan of scrambled eggs that he practically forced on Judai, and then retreated to his computer to do something with coding, muttering strings of numbers to himself and rubbing his temples. Crow had burst down the stairs at a quarter to eight, still pulling on his work jacket, grabbing a literal handful of eggs out of the cooling pan and shoving them into his mouth before running to his D-Wheel and zooming off. And Jack had stalked down the stairs ten minutes later, grunted in response to Judai's good morning, and then sniffed suspiciously at the eggs before ignoring them and going for his own D-Wheel, fastening on his helmet and leaving to do who knows what.

So Judai was sitting alone at the kitchen table, literally twiddling his thumbs.

Although he had told Yusei he was going to go out into the City, all of a sudden, the idea didn't seem so appealing to him. While he was in the house, he could pretend that he _hadn't_ jumped times, and he could go back to his travel whenever he decided to. Going out into that futuristic city would just solidify the idea that he had been teleported well out of his league into something way out of his comfort zone.

Besides…he didn't really get along with cities, generally. There were just too many people. There was a reason he usually stuck to back roads and wilderness during his travels, avoiding highways and large settlements. After he had had his third panic attack in a populated area, he had just…not wanted to do it again. He hated the looks on people's faces when he came out of the attack—pity, concern, worry, or even distaste from a select few who probably thought he was making it up for attention. As if. If he could go the rest of his life without another panic attack it would be too soon. And besides. He hated attention.

He sighed, letting his head drop into his hands for a moment.

Before Paradox had attacked Venice, he had been texting Asuka. He wondered if he had just disappeared for her. Or if he would jump back to his own time and get the next message as though nothing had happened. He couldn't even remember what they had been talking about, to be honest. This would be a fun story to tell her later.

If there was a later.

He frowned to himself. Bringing out his phone to get the numbers had been a smart idea, but it had just reminded him of all the contacts in that phone that he wasn't sure he'd be able to contact again. He almost took it out again just to scroll through the names…but that would be a bad idea, he decided. He didn't need to work himself up more than necessary. Besides, he didn't mind staying here with Yusei and the others. He had kinda wanted a chance to get to know him better anyway, without a psychopath threatening to shatter all of existence.

Yeah. He just needed to distract himself. Do something. Maybe he _would_ go out and see the city. Travel was something he enjoyed, after all. Walking would do him some good.

He was just standing up from the table when the door practically slammed open.

“Yusei, Yusei, Yusei, Yusei!! You'll never guess what card I just pulled!!!!”

A small blur rushed down the stairs two at a time, and then promptly tripped on the last one and went somersaulting a few feet across the floor.

“Aaaugh!”

“Lua!! What have I told you about running down the stairs?”

Judai blinked. At the top of the stairs stood a small girl, probably no older than twelve, thirteen. Her green hair was gathered up in neat pigtails, one hand pressing into the fabric of her yellow blouse over her heart, the other one gripping a hunk of the dark red fabric of her shirt. At the bottom of the stairs, picking himself up slowly, was a young boy with the same color hair, although his was pulled into a ponytail. He winced as he rubbed the back of his neck, his open jacket all rumpled from the fall.

“Oh, Lua,” said another voice, as a second figure stepped into the doorway behind the girl.

She was a tall, curvy young woman, her deep maroon bangs rolled up with a hair clip in front, the rest of the short strands loose above her shoulders. She slipped around the little girl and hurried down the stairs, kneeling by the other boy and checking him over with a careful eye, frowning.

“You need to slow down,” she said, shaking her head. “You're going to really hurt yourself one of these days. What if you had fallen at the top?”

“Sorry, Aki-nee,” the boy said, blushing. “I was just really excited to show Yusei this card…”

The boy looked up then, glancing around.

“Yusei?” he called again. “Where are…huh? Who are you? And what are you doing in here?”

He had finally noticed Judai. Judai raised a hand awkwardly.

“Um. Hey,” he said. “I'm Judai. Yuki Judai.”

A brief, uncertain silence fell between them. Thankfully, Bruno stirred out of his computer reverie for a moment long enough to notice the other three.

“Oh, good morning, everyone,” Bruno said, blinking a bit groggily from having been staring at the computer all morning. “How are you?”

“Bruno, who's this?” the boy said loudly as he scrambled to his feet. “Is he supposed to be here?”

“Lua, don't be rude!” the little girl that had to be his sister said. She had come down the stairs by now, and she put her hands on her hips with irritation, glaring at her brother.

“Hm? Oh, right,” Bruno said.

He spun around in his chair.

“Everyone, this is Yuki Judai-san. Yuki-san, this is Izayoi Aki-san, and Lua-san and Luka-san.”

“Hey there,” Judai said, still feeling a bit awkward.

“Judai…?” Aki said, cocking her head for a moment. “Oh! That name…Yusei said he fought Paradox with someone by that name…”

She frowned, looking uncertain.

“But…aren't you…?”

“From another time? Yeah…funny story…I have no idea how I got here.”

He laughed slightly, but it was an incredibly awkward sound, a futile attempt to lighten the sudden anxiety pressing down in his chest. He was _not_ ready to meet people right now, not without a better buffer.

Luckily, Aki seemed to note his distress, and smiled gently.

“I'm pleased to meet you, Yuki-san,” she said, bowing. “I've heard of you from Yusei. You're an incredible duelist, I've heard.”

“I'm…not bad. Thanks.”

“You duel??” Lua said, eyes brightening. “Wow! We should have a duel sometime!! If you fought Paradox with Yusei, you must be really strong! What kind of deck do you use? Oh, oh, do they have D-Wheels in the past? Can you ride one?”

“Lua! You're going to overwhelm him!” Luka said. She sighed before turning towards Judai. “I’m sorry about him…he's kind of hyper today.”

But Judai just smiled, a real one this time. Lua's cheer was kind of refreshing, to be honest. It put him at ease now that there wasn't that awkward, almost accusatory silence.

“I guess I'm pretty strong,” he said, in answer to Lua's question. “And yeah, sure, we can duel sometime. I use Elemental Heroes…are those still popular anymore?”

“I've never heard of 'em,” Lua said, thinking for a moment. “But they sound awesome!! I use Morphtronics! Did they have those back then? Oh, what about D-Wheels?”

“Nope, no D-Wheels,” Judai said. “Not yet, anyway. And I've never heard of Morphtronics, but I suppose they could exist. I don't know every card.”

Lua looked like he was ready to burst with more questions, but Judai was suddenly distracted by something small and fuzzy popping into existence behind Luka's head.

“ _Kurriiiiii~”_ it purred, jumping onto Luka's shoulder and twitching its ribboned tail.

Judai was used to seeing spirits pop up now and again, but what he was not used to was people noticing them. Luka turned and smiled at the little puffball, reaching up to pet it for a moment. It half closed its eyes and hummed, not unlike the way Winged Kuriboh would when it got pet.

“You have a little friend there, I see,” Judai said, sparking with interest.

Luka blinked. She turned towards Judai, eyes widening.

“You…you can see Kuribon?” she said.

“Yup,” Judai said. “In fact, I think I have one hiding around here somewhere…oy, _aibou_ , you around?”

He heard the telltale hum of his little winged friend from his deck box. Then, Winged Kuriboh popped into existence, fluttering up near Judai's head.

“ _Kuriiii!_ ” it said.

“ _Kurikuri,_ ” Kuribon replied.

Luka's Kuribon hopped off her shoulder and zipped over towards Winged Kuriboh with curiosity. They circled each other in the air for a few moments, and then Winged Kuriboh pushed Kuribon playfully, and they started to chase each other around the room with little squeaks. Luka giggled at the sight. Lua looked around with wide eyes.

“What? What? There's another spirit here?? Aw, man, Luka, why'd you have to get all the cool powers!”

Judai laughed softly.

“How long have you been able to see spirits?” he asked Luka.

“Since I was little…almost as long as I can remember,” Luka said.

Her eyes brightened, her whole body seemed to light up with excitement.

“I've…I've never met anyone else who could see them before,” she said, suddenly shy, her head ducking down.

“It's not a very common ability, that's for sure…but I've met a few. I actually travel a lot, looking for others that have powers, you know…so that they don't have to think they're alone anymore.”

Aki started a bit at that. She looked at Judai with a new interest, hazel eyes curious.

Kuribon zoomed back to Luka's arms, burying itself in her chest. She giggled, hugging it close as Winged Kuriboh zipped over and hovered by Luka's head, eyes shining with curiosity. Judai chuckled. It was good to see Winged Kuriboh so excitable.

“So you're from the past?” said Aki. “And you don't know how you got here?”

Judai grimaced.

“I wish I did. My mind's a clean slate when it comes to that part. Just a big blank…”

“So you're going to stay with Yusei then?” Lua said, looking very excited by the idea. “We so have to have a duel soon! And oooh, maybe Yusei can teach you how to D-Wheel, like he taught Aki-san!”

Aki flushed a bit for a moment, shaking her head with an awkward smile. Judai noted the expression with a bit of confusion, but didn't ask.

“I don't know about that…sounds like it might be fun, but I'm kinda used to dueling with my feet on the ground.”

“But Acceleration Duels are so coooooool!” Lua said.

Judai just had to smile. He couldn't help it. Lua's cheer was infectious.

And then he noticed something. Something…odd.

He frowned slightly. There seemed to be a kind of haze hovering around the three of them. Something like…an aura? Judai hesitated. He didn't like to switch to his aura vision because it made his eyes glow like Yubel's, and it sometimes freaked people out. But it was really starting to annoy him—what was that haze?

He gave in, switching for just a brief second, so that maybe the flicker of his eye color could be blamed on the light.

He almost flinched. There was _power_ surrounding the three of them, power unlike anything he'd seen in— _years_.

“Yuki-san? Are you all right?” Aki asked.

Judai managed a smile.

“I'm fine. You can call me Judai, too, by the way…”

He hesitated.

“I hope you don't mind me asking…but the rest of you have powers, too, right? I can kind of…sense something around you.”

It was hot, was what it was. A hot, pulsing presence, the impression of the color red surrounding them. It seemed to be centered on their left arms, a presence that pulsed. In Lua's case, it seemed…muted, faint, but with Lua and Aki it was really strong, a radiating heat that he was only just beginning to notice now that he had seen the red aura around them.

“Huh? I don't have any powers,” Lua said. “Aki-nee does, though! She's a psychic duelist!”

“Psychic…duelist?”

Aki ducked her head.

“It…it means that I can make the monsters real when I duel,” she muttered. “Those…don't exist in your time?”

“Oh…they definitely do, actually. I can do that myself.”

Her eyes widened and her mouth opened slightly.

“R-really?”

“Yeah…took me a while to figure out how to do it, but yeah. I was a late bloomer on that front.”

She looked both shocked and relieved, as though she had thought Judai might react differently to the revelation. He flashed her a reassuring smile, hoping that would make her feel better. Maybe her powers had gotten her into trouble as a kid—he knew the feeling.

“But that's not exactly what I mean…there's some other kind of…presence around you guys.”

He rubbed his chin, frowning.

“Like…something big, and red. Something ancient.”

Luka perked up.

“Oh!” she said. “You can sense the Crimson Dragon?”

“The…the what?”

“The Crimson Dragon!” Lua said, jumping up. “Aki-nee and Luka are Signers, like Crow and Jack and Yusei! They have the marks of the Crimson Dragon and they can use it to fight the bad guys! Look!”

He grabbed Luka's arm and pushed her sleeve up, ignoring her spluttered protests. Judai blinked at the strange mark that seemed to be imprinted on the girl's skin. It was a dark maroon, in the vague shape of…a claw? Luka snatched her arm back and pulled her sleeve back down, blushing and glaring at her brother.

“Ask before you grab me,” she muttered.

Judai considered the warm aura again for a brief moment. But if Aki and Luka were Signers, and Lua wasn't…why did he sense the same aura around Lua? Maybe it was just powerful enough that it _looked_ like it was surrounding him?

“So…what's a Signer?” he said, curiously.

It was, apparently, the right thing to say, because Lua completely lit up.

“You haven't heard about the Signers yet?? Oh, wow, it's a really awesome story! Can I tell it, Luka, can I tell it?”

“As long as you don't embellish things,” she muttered, still looking miffed about the sleeve pulling thing.

“Maybe we should sit down,” Aki said, pushing Lua towards the couch, sending Judai a somewhat exasperated smile. Judai smiled back, following the group to the couch.

Well. Maybe this morning wouldn't be as dragging and boring as he had thought it would be.

 

 

 


	5. Fornax

Yusei came back to hear laughter echoing through the house. He blinked with surprise at the sight of a full group of people sitting around the kitchen table.

“Did you really punch him??” Lua said, eyes wide.

“Of course I punched him; he was an ass,” said Judai. He was grinning, eyes sparkling with the look of someone telling a great story.

“But he didn't he get mad? Didn't you get in trouble? He was a politician!”

“ _And_ he was an ass,” Judai said. “Yeah, he blustered a bit at me, but he was all bark, to be honest. After that, he stopped messing with trying to develop the mountain. Trust me, if he had kept it up he would have ended up much worse off than me punching him.”

Judai sat at the far end of the table, cross-legged on his chair. The fatigue of the morning seemed to have worn off, as he was all cheer and smiles now. Lua sat to his right, leaning against the table with wide, attentive eyes. Luka was sitting back in her chair across from her brother, looking a bit miffed but otherwise smiling. Aki sat beside Luka, a bemused smile on her face, shaking her head slightly. Bruno was on the opposite end of the table, and he was just standing up to clear plates away when he saw Yusei.

“Oh! Welcome back, Yusei,” Bruno said. “There's still some curry left; are you hungry?”

“I'm fine, thank you, Bruno,” Yusei said. “I picked something on the way back.”

Lua popped upwards at the sound of Yusei's name.

“Yusei!” he said.

He leaped from the table and zoomed across the room.

“Welcome back! How are you? What kind of job did you have to do today? Oh, oh, did you know that Judai once punched a senator in the face? Did he tell you that story? How long is Judai going to be staying?”

“Slow down, Lua,” Yusei said, laughing. “I'm fine. I was fixing the air conditioning at the Tops, so you're welcome for that. And no, I didn't hear this story. I don't know how long he'll be staying.”

He smiled over the top of Lua's head to Judai, who grinned back.

“Although I'm glad to see that you're all getting along. I'm sorry I wasn't here to introduce you.”

Judai shrugged.

“No big deal. We managed.”

He grinned at Luka, who smiled shyly back.

“I didn't know you had friends that could see spirits and stuff,” said Judai. “And I heard all about the Signer stuff from Lua and the others. Sounds like you've been having a pretty crazy year.”

“That's an understatement,” Yusei said, smiling wryly.

He dropped off his tool box in the corner and stripped off his gloves. They were covered in grease and grime, and he was sure his face was a mess too.

“I'm going to wash up a bit,” he said. “I'll be right back.”

“Take your time,” Aki said with a smile. “I think we can hold down things here for a little longer.”

He sent her a grateful smile as he climbed the stairs up to the bathroom. It was a glorious feeling to get all of the grime off his face and hands, and he felt like a new person when he came back down into the kitchen, throwing on a clean jacket. Judai was still telling stories—this one, it sounded was about him in the Duel Spirit world. Did Judai have that ability? He knew that Luka had traveled there several times but it had almost never been on purpose.

“You mean the Kuriboh have a government?” Luka said, her eyes shining with interest. “Kuribon never told me that!”

“I wouldn't really call it a government,” Judai said with a laugh. “They're more loose than most other Shadow People, and they're practically everywhere in every dimension so it's hard to have a central leader. But that's mostly because they're so peaceful; they don't really need anyone to take care of 'em, you know? They have like…a rotating trio of leaders. Changes every month. Or whenever they get bored. But they're only job is really to organize celebrations. Kuriboh really like parties. They'll celebrate just about anything.”

“That sounds like fun!” Lua said. “I want to go to a Kuriboh party.”

“What exactly does a Kuriboh party entail?” Yusei asked with a smile.

He took a seat across the table from Judai, who flashed him a grin.

“Food, mostly,” Judai said. “They really like berries—nothing like what we have here, of course, although a couple of 'em like to sneak strawberries into their dimension. They make tea out of it. It's actually kind of intoxicating, so not for you kiddos.”

He ruffled Lua's hair as he said this, and Lua laughed. Yusei felt a warmth in his chest. Judai was good with the kids. That was something that he always admired in other people; an ability to get along well with children. He was really glad that Judai was getting along with the twins so well.

“And lots of bouncing around, too,” Judai said. “They call it dancing, but I don't think that bobbing in circles can really be called dancing—otherwise, we'd have to call my swaying from side to side dancing too.”

“Dancing and intoxicating beverages? Sounds like a human party,” Aki said.

“I guess it is. But have you ever seen a drunk Kuriboh? Far more hilarious.”

Yusei tried to imagine it and failed miserably. Still, it was a very funny thought.

“So you can travel to the spirit world?” Yusei asked.

“Yeah. It's a tricky thing to learn, and definitely a bit dangerous if you're not careful.”

He glanced pointedly at Luka, who blushed.

“I wouldn't have done it if I didn't have to…”

Judai grinned, and ruffled her hair too, more gently than he did with her brother.

“It's cool. Usually, kids like you can't really help it. Especially since for the most part you've just been doing astral projection, and not full dimension hopping. Still, let me make sure you're not gonna ruin your DNA before you try again.”

“I will!”

“She told you about her powers, then?” said Yusei.

“Yeah. Kinda figured it out when I saw Kuribon hanging around.”

Yusei blinked. So Judai could see spirits too? What _couldn't_ Judai's powers do?

“He's a psychic duelist, too, he said,” Aki said, and Yusei was pleased to see that her eyes were shining with excitement too. “He said he can help me learn to channel it better.”

“That's great!” Yusei said.

Judai grinned.

“Seems like I'm booking myself out while I'm here,” he said, not looking in the slightest perturbed by the fact.

“Only if it's not too much trouble,” Aki said, quickly.

“No worries, Aki-san. This is basically what I do with my life. Travel around, meet kids with powers like mine, try to help 'em out. It's no different than what I would normally be doing.”

He frowned a bit though.

“Although…you know, we're only thirty years into my future. I know a friend of mine, Johan, was starting up a school for kids like us. I wonder what happened to that?”

“Johan?” Aki said, eyes widening. “You knew Johan Andersen?”

Judai's expression slipped slightly.

“…knew?” he said. “Past tense?”

For a brief moment, the mood seemed to darken a bit. Aki, however, quickly waved her hands.

“Oh, I'm sorry, that must have sounded bad!” she said. “Johan Andersen is definitely still around…I'm sorry. I didn't mean to worry you.”

Judai relaxed then, his shoulders slumping slightly.

“But you know him, then?” he said, looking a bit brighter.

“Only by hearsay,” Aki admitted. “He's a pretty big name in Eastern Europe…he _did_ make a school for psychic duelists. He was a very outspoken opponent to the Arcadia Movement.”

“That was a psychic duelist group in the city,” Lua piped up. “The guy in charge was trying to make psychic duelists into soldiers secretly.”

“Lua!” said Luka, looking quickly over at Aki.

Yusei frowned as he, too glanced at Aki. She had flinched a bit at Lua's comment, but she steeled her expression. Judai frowned a bit—Yusei wondered just how much Judai was picking up on from Aki's reaction. To his credit, however, Judai didn't push it.

“But he's doing okay, then?” Judai said. “That's great. And he made the school! Damn.”

He grinned.

“I wonder what the others are up to,” he said. “Asuka, Shou, Manjoume, and everyone.”

“Oh! You don't mean Tenjoin Asuka, do you?” Luka said, brightening. “She's Aki-nee's teacher, right?”

“She's a Duel Academy teacher?” Judai said, eyes brightening with excitement.

“She is; she teaches fusion summoning and math,” said Aki. “She's also my homeroom teacher—you knew her?”

Judai's smile was so wide that it looked like his face might split all the way open.

“Did I! She was one of the top students. Always on my case about schoolwork!”

He laughed—it was a really nice sound, Yusei thought, a mixture of bells and joy that sent a light tingle down his arms.

“What about Marufuji Shou? Or Manjoume Jun? Have you heard of them?”

“Marufuji?” Yusei said, blinking with surprise. “Yeah, I know that name…that's a really big name dueling league in Tokyo. Run by a pair of brothers, right?”

“Oh! Oh! I remember that one, I watched the finals last week!” Lua said, bouncing in his chair. “Manjoume Jun's still the champion of that one!”

“Manjoume's working with Shou's tournament?” Judai said. “Man! That guy…but champion!”

He leaned back in his chair, smiling up at the ceiling for a moment.

“I wonder if it's bad that I'm finding out about all this,” he said, laughing softly. “Hope I don't mess anything up when I go back.”

“As long as you don't go around telling people what happens,” said Yusei.

“True.”

A companionable silence fell over the group for a moment. Bruno glanced down at his watch.

“Oh, right,” he said. “Yusei, we were supposed to go to the Public Maintenance Bureau to meet with Ushio-san and Mikage-san, weren't we?”

Yusei looked up at the clock, shocked at how late it had gotten already.

“Right,” he said, standing up, his chair screeching slightly across the floor. He felt a bit disappointed; listening to Judai talk had been more than fascinating.

“Sorry I have to go again,” he said. “We'll be back in an hour or two.”

“No worries; take your time,” said Judai, flashing Yusei a smile.

Yusei smiled back, feeling an odd warmth bloom in his chest for a moment at Judai's expression. Their eyes actually held for a moment longer than was probably necessary—and then Lua leapt in, grabbing Judai's arm.

“Judai, Judai, Judai,” he said, shaking him a little with excitement. “So you knew Manjoume Jun?? Was he always so cool?”

“Oh boy, are you in for a story,” said Judai with a wide grin.

Yusei smiled again as he went for his keys, Bruno at his heels.

“Judai seems very nice,” Bruno said as they walked for their D-Wheels.

“Yeah,” said Yusei.

He glanced over his shoulder at the laughing boy in his red jacket, grinning and ruffling Lua's hair, leaning over towards Luka to nod and smile at her, the way that he sometimes threw his head back to let out big laugh.

“Yeah,” said Yusei again. “He really is.”

. . .

The meeting went by quickly and smoothly. Since Bruno still didn't remember much more about his past, and Mikage and Ushio hadn't been able to turn up anything about him in the database, there wasn't much to talk about.

Bruno was quiet as usual as they rode down the elevator. It seemed…a deeper silence than usual, though. Yusei put a hand on his shoulder.

“You okay?” he asked quietly.

Bruno just nodded.

“We'll definitely find where you came from.”

The blue haired man half smiled, but he still looked a bit distressed. Yusei squeezed his shoulder and then let his hand fall back to his side.

That was when something exploded.

The whole elevator rocked, and the lights went out. Bruno yelped. Yusei whipped around to face the door as the elevator creaked to a stop, shut down in emergency mode. That was when the voice crackled out through the PA system.

“ _All persons evacuate. There is a bomb threat. I repeat, there has been a bomb threat. All persons evacuate Security immediately.”_

“A b-bomb??” Bruno said, eyes wide.

 _Shit_ , Yusei thought.

He smacked at a few of the elevator buttons, trying to open the door. The doors creaked a bit, but did not open. He swore again under his breath, going for his miniature tool kit in his jacket, flipping out a screwdriver. In a few seconds, he had the panel beneath the button removed, and went at the wires with a vengeance.

About a minute later, the doors were sliding half open, and Yusei pushed Bruno through before slipping out through the crack himself.

All of the lights were out and the halls empty. Yusei swore mentally once again. How long did they have?

“Go for the stairs,” he said, pushing Bruno forward. “We'll—”

It was then that he saw a pair of shadows running down for the stairs ahead of them. One was a slender shadow with long hair fluttering behind them—the other, a tall, hulking figure with thick arms.

Yusei recognized them the second after they disappeared.

“Sherry and Mizoguchi?”

“What?” Bruno said.

Yusei was already bolting after them. Bruno yelped as he scrambled to catch up.

“Y-Yusei! What about the bomb?!”

“We have to warn Sherry and Mizoguchi too,” Yusei called back, although, in the back of his mind, he wondered what they were doing here at all.

He had a feeling whatever the reason, it wasn't just a friendly visit.

Yusei took the stairs two at a time, just behind the glimpse of Sherry's hair disappearing around a corner.

A strange buzzing sound had started at the back of his brain. Like…like static. It was getting stronger the further down they went. His throat was growing dry and his vision just the barest bit hazy. As though he were running towards…something. Something that grated at him, something that unnerved him.

 _Martha used to talk about the feeling of someone walking over your grave_ , he thought. _So why do I feel like someone is doing that now?_

**. . .**

Aki, Luka, and Lua had to leave themselves a bit less than an hour later—Aki had cram school, and Luka and Lua were supposed to meet their friends. Lua begged Judai to come along, but at that point, Judai was starting to get tired of social interaction, so he politely declined and promised him another time.

 _Cute kids_ , he thought, collapsing into the couch. _Very enthusiastic_.

He couldn't deny the excitement in his chest at the fact that Luka and Aki had the kinds of powers that he was always looking for. He was a little upset that even thirty years in the future, even the efforts of Johan and even himself hadn't been enough to change the climate of distrust between normal people and people with powers, but he couldn't expect too much from it.

 _Yusei and Bruno should be back soon_.

It was the first time since he had arrived in this time period that he was totally alone, he realized. Well, not totally alone. Yubel shifted silently in his brain, sharing his thoughts. But alone in a physical sense. The house felt quiet, and a little cold, without anyone else in it.

Judai found that his eyes were starting to droop. Well, he hadn't slept at all last night, and this was more social interaction in a few hours than he usually had in a week. He shouldn't be surprised.

He didn't really want to fall asleep, though. Would he have nightmares again? He tried to fight it, albeit sluggishly and half-heartedly.

Yubel finally shifted forward in his mind. He could almost feel the touch of her leathery wings enveloping him like a blanket.

— _Sleep—_ she ordered. _—I'll do what I can to push the nightmares away—_

He sighed…but he gave in. He let his eyes slide shut and drifted off into the darkness…

_Falling. He was falling again. Spinning, spinning, spinning, the stars turned into lines of line that spiraled around him in a disorienting blur._

_He screamed, but the sound was only swallowed by the vast darkness of space. Something was curling around him, something thick and dark and_ alive _, both insubstantial and yet strangling him at the same time._

“ _ **The real question is,”**_ _a voice echoed in his mind—it was the sound of the universe itself, rumbling and grating and ripping him apart with words alone, how was it possible that he was even alive in this presence,_ _ **“why should I help you?”**_

Judai gasped, eyes snapping awake.

But he wasn't in the garage anymore, he realized, suddenly feeling dizzy. He wasn't on the couch—he wasn't even sitting down. He was standing, standing in a wide, perfectly white landscape that had no end and no beginning, no floor or ceiling or walls, and yet, he was still standing on _something._

“Judai?”

Judai whipped around, eyes taking in the other three figures in a glimpse—Yusei, Bruno, and a woman with long blond hair, all staring at him with wide eyes.

“What are you guys doing in my dream?” Judai said, frowning.

“What are you doing here?” Yusei said at the same time.

They stared at each other for a moment.

“…what happened?” said Judai.

Yusei shook his head slowly.

“I…I don't know.”

Bruno glanced around, looking nervous.

“We…we put that card onto the computer scanner…and then everything went white, and…”

He gasped. His eyes widened. Judai jerked around immediately, searching for whatever had caught Bruno's eyes.

Something was there in the whiteness that hadn't been there a moment ago.

Something huge, dark, floating, made of gleaming metal, a strange shape that made no sense to Judai's eyes—

There was a deep blue eye staring at him from within the steel capsule.

Suddenly, pain ripped through his body. He screamed in spite of himself, hearing identical screams behind him from the other three. He could feel something _raking_ him, ripping through his skin and cataloging every vein, every pore, every detail—

Yubel roared from inside of him. Before he could stop himself, his wings exploded from his back, scales ripped free to cover skin, talons broke through in place of nails, he could feel his fangs lengthening in his mouth—something was trying to invade his mind, trying to read it, to tease out its secrets, and his powers were reacting in defense.

And then it ended.

Judai shot up from the couch, gasping for breath. Cold sweat matted his hair to his face as his heart screamed in his chest. He felt—cold. Very cold. It shouldn't be this cold; it was still ridiculously hot outside.

Judai scrambled to his feet and jogged up the stairs to the door, stumbling out into the open space of the square. Immediately hot air billowed into his face and he gasped. It was harder to breathe in the humidity but he had to, he had to breathe something other than cold, had to get rid of that skittering feeling of dread that slipped through his veins like poison. It was starting to get dark outside already, the sun was setting and there were few people out on the cobbled streets.

Phone. His phone was buzzing in his pocket.

He fumbled with his pockets, fingers still shaking. Yusei's name flashed across the screen.

He ignored the odd looks he was getting from passersby as he answered—he must have looked a sight, trembling, eyes wide and mouth open to pant.

“Y-Yusei?” he said.

“Judai,” Yusei said, relief coloring his voice. “Are—are you okay? Did that thing…did that happen?”

Judai swallowed.

“You were there too?” he whispered. “That white place?”

Yusei fell silent for a moment, and that was as good an affirmation as any.

“What was that?” Yusei said.

Judai shook his head slowly.

“I…I think the better question is… _who_ was that?”

That dark blue eye, staring at him. Trying to read his very soul.

The cold settled in his stomach and rooted itself there. Even the heat of the summer evening could not chase it away.

 


	6. Equuleus

It was late when Yusei and Bruno finally got back, and Bruno was so tired that he passed out immediately. Yusei, however, didn't seem like he was able to sleep. Despite the circles darkening under his eyes, he kept finding reasons to walk around, pick something up, tidy up a pile of clutter, wipe at some permanent stain on the counter. His nervous movements were enough to keep Judai in the kitchen, perched on the edge of his chair and watching Yusei walk around. He wouldn't have been able to sleep, either, but Yusei's constant movement gave him an excuse.

“You okay?” he asked quietly.

Yusei shrugged, still rubbing at the counter with a rag. Judai wasn't sure if he should mention that he was using the greasy rag used to clean the motorcycles, and was probably doing more harm than good.

Judai sighed, sliding his elbows across the table and resting his chin on top of his arms. He just watched Yusei for a few moments, the way that his shoulders moved as he rubbed the rag in circles. He felt an odd heat rising in his cheeks and dropped his eyes to the table.

Yusei had explained what had happened at Security, with Sherry and Bruno; he had explained the WRGP, the androids called Ghosts that had been striking out at various places, the hints of something new stirring in the background of Neo Domino, and his attempts to reach this faraway summon beyond speed, the mysterious Accel Synchro shown to him by someone he didn't know. It looked like the world was in trouble again…fine time for Judai to show up.

Although…maybe it was _why_ he had shown up.

“Yusei…you're not going to clean that off, you know.”

Yusei just shrugged. Judai hesitated. The thing was…he didn't really know Yusei, did he? They had only met once. What kind of guy was he? They hadn't talked _too_ much since he had gotten here. Judai had ended up talking to Lua and Luka and Aki more. Sure, they had told him quite about bit about Yusei, about where he had come from, about the Dark Signers and what had happened in this city, about what he had accomplished.

“Are you…worried?”

Yusei hesitated, pausing in the middle of his movements.

“Yeah,” he said. “I just…something about that…thing. That thing that we saw. It…”

He shuddered slightly. Judai sat up, frowning. He waited, not wanting to push Yusei too much.

“You ever hear the phrase, 'it's like someone walking over your grave?'” Yusei asked.

“Yeah,” Judai said. “I've heard that one.”

“That's what it felt like. When he looked at me. Like something…yeah.”

He shuddered again. Judai blinked.

“You said…he. How did you know it was a he?”

Yusei looked up. His mouth parted slightly, eyes unfocusing. When he came back, he looked at Judai with a frown, the quiet, subdued expression just barely crinkling his forehead.

“Why…why did I say that?” he said.

He looked pale, Judai realized.

“You should sleep,” said Judai. “We're not going to get any answers tonight. You look like you're going to pass out.”

He was starting to shake a little bit from how tired he was. Judai scootched out of his chair and put a steadying hand on Yusei's shoulder.

“Come on, speed racer,” he said. “Time to sleep.”

Yusei sighed, but did not protest as Judai guided him up the stairs to his room. Jack and Crow were already passed out, and didn't stir as Yusei settled on to his bed.

“You should sleep too,” he murmured.

“Yeah, I will,” Judai said. “No worries.”

He squeezed Yusei's shoulder.

“See ya in the morning.”

“Yeah. Good night.”

Judai waited at the door to make sure that Yusei did in fact settle down on to the bed before he flitted down to his own room.

He wasn't going to sleep. He knew he wouldn't be able to. He could already feel the nightmares clawing at him, the darkness swirling around him. He shuddered.

Well…he'd have to try, he guessed…

. . .

Yusei awoke to a loud _thump_. He groaned, blinking through sleep, his throat feeling dry and disgusting. What…?

He rolled over, squinting at the clock. It was like 5:30. What had that sound been? Had he imagined it?

He heard Jack grunting and shifting two beds over.

“The fuck was that,” he muttered.

Yusei hadn't imagined it then, if it had woken Jack too. He sighed, closing his eyes for a moment. Then he sat up, rubbing at his eyes. Jack was half sitting up, too.

“Where'd that come from…?” Yusei said.

“The guest room, I think…” Jack said.

Yusei frowned. Where Judai was staying?

“I'll go check…you go back to sleep.”

Jack didn't protest, falling back against the pillow without another word. Yusei sighed. He slid his feet to the floor, wincing at the cold that filtered even through his socks. He shoved his hands under his armpits; despite the heat of this summer, it was damn cold in the mornings.

Yawning, he shuffled down towards the guest room.

“Judai…?” he called softly. “Everything okay?”

The door was closed, and he hesitated with his hand over the knob. Maybe it had been nothing. Just him hitting the wall in his sleep or something. He didn't want to disturb him…

And then he heard the heavy panting on the other side of the door, the strange gasps for breath. He grabbed the handle and practically threw the door open, eyes raking the room—the bed was empty, the covers half thrown off the bed, where was Judai—

There. Yusei hesitated again, uncertain.

Judai had pulled himself into the corner, gripping his head in his hands, face pressed into his knees, shoulders trembling. He was gasping for breath, muttering into his knees, shaking so badly that he looked like he would fall apart.

“Judai? Judai!”

Yusei crossed the room, but Judai didn't even respond. His heart jumped in his chest. What was wrong? What happened? Was he okay?

“Judai?” Yusei said softly. “Judai. What's wrong? Are you okay?”

Judai drew in a shaky breath. Yusei could hear what he was muttering now.

“Sorry, sorry, sorry, sorry, sorry, oh god, I'm so sorry, I didn't want to, I didn't want to, I—please, no, no, no, no, no—”

“Judai,” Yusei said again, more firmly. “Judai. Breathe.”

He didn't know what was going on, but he knew enough to recognize a panic attack when he saw one. He touched Judai's knee gently. Judai flinched, head snapped up. Yusei sucked in a breath. Judai's eyes were wide and terrified, which was to be expected.

What was not to be expected was the fact that the deep brown had faded into a flat gold.

Was—was he even looking at Judai? Was he possessed? What was going on?

“Judai,” Yusei said again. “I'm here. It's okay. Breathe.”

Judai's mouth was open, panting for breath. Cold sweat matted his hair to his face.

“I didn't—I didn't want to,” he muttered. “I'm sorry. Shou, I'm so sorry, everyone, please…”

“Sh, sh…” Yusei said, moving his hand to Judai's forehead, brushing the bangs aside. “You're not there. It's not real. What can you see? Count the things you can see.”

Judai swallowed, still shaking.

“They won't stop screaming,” he whispered. “Oh god, they won't stop screaming. I'm sorry. I didn't—I'm sorry, I hurt them, I hurt so many people—”

“Sh…sh…you're not there. You're not there.”

Yusei had no idea where “there” was, but he had a feeling Judai was having some kind of post traumatic hallucination.

“Tell me what you can feel. Can you hear my voice? Just pay attention to my voice.”

Judai swallowed a few more breaths. He nodded.

“Good. Just keep listening to me. Can you see my hand?”

He held his hand up by his face. Judai nodded.

“Good. My hand is real. Can you count the fingers? Breathe while you count.”

Judai sucked in a deep breath, his eyes flicking from finger to finger.

“Five,” he said, his voice sounding a little calmer. “Five fingers.”

“Great,” Yusei said, squeezing Judai's shoulder with his other hand, gently. “That was great. Do you know where you are?”

“In the guest room. At your place.”

“Right. Are you still breathing deeply?”

Judai nodded. And even as Yusei watched, those flat golden eyes deepened in color, melting back to a deep, deep brown. He closed his eyes for a moment, sucking in a deep breath.

“I'm back,” he said. “I'm back.”

Yusei squeezed his shoulder again.

“How do you feel?”

“Like I just ran a full marathon.”

Yusei smiled, but it was a shaky smile of relief. He hadn't realized until just now that _he_ was shaking too. His heart was pounding in his chest—it was a wonder he had been able to remain so calm at all.

“Do you want me to get you some water?”

Judai's hand clamped down onto Yusei's, his eyes widening again for a moment. Then he swallowed and closed his eyes, releasing Yusei's hand.

“S-sorry,” he said. “I…can you just sit there for a second? Still calming down.”

“Of course.”

Yusei shifted so he was sitting instead of kneeling, grimacing when his knees cracked. Judai leaned his head against a wall for a moment, just breathing. Yusei didn't speak. It was best to let him calm down; there wasn't anything to say for now.

When Judai finally opened his eyes again, he looked much better.

“I…I think I'm okay, now.”

He shifted as though to stand up.

“Can you stand?” Yusei said, frowning.

“Yeah…I heal up a lot faster than normal people. I'm still tired but my legs should hold.”

Yusei stood up himself, offering Judai a hand. Judai smiled gratefully, letting Yusei guide him to his feet.

“Are you okay?” Yusei asked.

“As much as usual, I guess.”

Yusei didn't let go of Judai's arm, in case he got dizzy again.

“I could probably go for some water now,” said Judai.

“Let's take it slow.”

They made their way downstairs, slowly, one step at a time. Yusei kept a firm grip on Judai's arm, afraid that he might fall over. However, Judai's movements did seem to get stronger as they moved, and by the time they reached the bottom of the stairs he seemed able to walk by himself.

He still sunk into a chair with a sigh as Yusei moved to fill a glass of water. Judai accepted the water with a grateful smile, downing half of it at once.

“Whew,” he said. “It's…been a while since I had one this bad.”

“Do these happen a lot?”

“Every so often…they're usually just me disassociating for like half a minute or so. Sometimes I have full on panic attacks, but they're usually not as bad as that one.”

He ducked his head.

“Sorry you had to see that.”

“You don't have to apologize,” Yusei said, sitting down next to Judai and touching his arm gently. “You can't control that.”

Judai sipped at his water, looking a little embarrassed.

“I've had panic attacks before. I know what they're like. A lot of people I knew in Satellite had them. You're not wrong or bad for having them, Judai. It's not something you can control.”

Judai finished the water, still looking a little red.

“Yeah, I guess…” he said. “…thanks.”

Yusei squeezed his arm, smiling.

The sun was starting to rise, and Yusei could see the light filtering through the door.

“What were you planning on doing today?” he asked. “Do you need me to get you anything?”

“Nah, you're fine,” Judai said. “I'm…probably gonna go for a walk. I mean, I always hate the possibility of having another attack out in public but…being cooped up sometimes makes it worse too.”

He hesitated, staring at the bottom of glass in his hand for a moment. Yusei bit his lip.

“Do you…want me to come with you?”

Judai blinked. He glanced up at Yusei.

“Don't you have—engine stuff to do?” he said. “I mean—augh that sounded like I was saying I don't want you to come. I wouldn't mind that. I mean, it would be nice. But I don't wanna—I don't want to distract you or anything and pull you away from work or whatever, don't wanna bother you—”

Yusei shrugged.

“I don't mind,” he said. “Bruno won't be awake for another hour and a half.”

Judai's cheeks went a little red for a moment. Then it faded.

“Well…if you want to come. Sure. I mean…you know the place better than I do. You can keep me from getting lost.”

He laughed a little at that, but it sounded awkward. Yusei had to smile.

“I do want to come, if you're all right with that.”

Judai met Yusei's eyes. Then he grinned.

. . .

After a bit of discussion, they decided to take Yusei's D-Wheel up to the bluff. It was the quietest place in the city, Yusei had explained, and might be the most relaxing. From there Yusei could show him most of the city's layout anyway, if he wanted to take another walk later, so that he wouldn't get as lost.

“So should I be worried about this thing taking us to ancient Babylon by accident?” Judai said, as Yusei was getting on to the D-Wheel and pulling his helmet on.

Yusei laughed—he didn't do that a whole lot, but Judai was starting to like it. It was a soft, sort of restrained sound that nonetheless felt so joyful.

“Not to worry; I don't know how to make it go through time,” Yusei said. “Usually it keeps its wheels right here in this part of the twenty first century.”

Judai grinned as Yusei tossed him a helmet. He fit it over his hair and then slid onto the bike behind Yusei.

“You'll want to hang on,” Yusei said over his shoulder.

He started up the bike and Judai awkwardly slid his arms around Yusei's torso. Last time he had ridden this thing he hadn't really thought about it; they _were_ fleeing the end of time itself, after all. But now, in the quiet of Yusei's garage, without any world-threatening danger to be occupied by, he found that he actually was a little embarrassed about holding on to Yusei like this.

But then he stopped thinking as much about it, because the D-Wheel took off from the garage and he had to grip tighter before he went flying off the back.

D-Wheels were pretty quiet, he realized, as they zoomed up out of the square and made their way into the lazy early morning traffic. He had ridden motorcycles before, and they all made these really loud noises when they started up, and while they were driving. The D-Wheel, though, was as smooth and quiet as a car. He barely even felt the bumps in the road.

Wind blasted across them, buffeting against Judai's shoulders. He was glad of the helmet, then, because it was keeping his hair from blowing all over his eyes. He didn't want to have to deal with his vision impaired, because this was too amazing not to watch.

The world zoomed past them, a blur of lights and early morning mist. The lights of cars twinkled on highways below them, they themselves riding along on a raised set of highways. There was a network of the roads winding all atop the city, but most of them were blocked off.

 _Duel Lane,_ he read on the sign above one of them. _They have an entire road network for dueling?_

Excitement bubbled in his stomach. The whole city spread out before them, a masterpiece of steel and glass that glittered in the early morning light as though it were made of crystal. He was suddenly very glad that he hadn't locked himself up back at the house all day like he had considered. This was perfect. Glorious. He could ride like this all day with the wind in his face and the world blurring around him in a glorious stream of colors, and the sturdy bulk of Yusei in front of him—

He scratched that last thought, feeling a blush spread across his cheeks. What the hell, brain?

Finally, Yusei turned off into a street to the left, which let them down to the lower road and then sent them back up a hill, the road turning from concrete to bricks as they zipped up to the top. Yusei brought the D-Wheel to a smooth stop.

“Here we are,” he said, pulling off his helmet.

Judai tried not to think about the fact that he was having a hard time looking away from how Yusei shook his hair out of his face when he removed the helmet. He, too, slipped off his helmet and hopped off of the bike.

It was pretty quiet up here, he thought.

A railing spread across the drop off, looking over the whole of the city. Mist hung low, clinging to the buildings, making the ethereal look of the place even more mysterious and beautiful. The sun was rising behind them, sending the rays across the city like diamonds. Tree rustled behind them as well, heavy with dew that dripped onto the cobblestones.

It was a chilly morning, but Judai could feel the heat and humidity of the day coming in. Maybe it was a good thing he had decided to go out early instead of later. It was going to be a hot one.

Yusei crossed over to the railing and leaning against it. Judai followed suit, the pair sitting at the edge and staring silently at the city.

“I come here a lot,” Yusei said. “It's…peaceful.”

Judai nodded.

“It really is.”

He paused.

“Thanks for sharing it with me.”

Yusei smiled, but did only nodded. Again, the silence fell between them, just the twitter of birds breaking the quiet. Judai didn't feel like he needed to speak. He just had to sit there, in the quiet, letting the cool morning air tickle at his skin, listening to the wind rustle the leaves and the flutter of birds wings as they took off into the sky. Just had to stand there beside the quiet, reassuring form of Yusei.

Because he was reassuring. Just…everything about him, the quiet, calm way that he spoke, how he never seemed to get too worked up, how gentle and compassionate he was, the very presence that he exuded that was one of kindness and security. Judai didn't feel embarrassed anymore to think that way. It was what Yusei was. And he liked it.

“Thanks,” Judai said again. “For…this. And for taking care of me this morning.”

Yusei smiled.

“It's never a problem,” he said. “Because we're friends, aren't we?”

“Yeah. We are, aren't we?”

They looked at each other. They smiled.

Neither of them quite noticed how their hands, dangling over the railing, had slid across so that their pinkies were touching.

 


	7. Circinus

_He is falling._

_He is tumbling, head over heels, falling into the darkness, swallowed up in the space between the stars. There is something coiling around him, something thick and dark and_ _ancient_ , _something that could swallow him whole if he isn't careful._

**“ _The real question is…_ why _should I help you?”_**

“Please.”

**“ _That is not a reason.”_**

“I'll give you anything. Whatever you ask for.”

**“ _That is a dangerous thing to promise.”_**

“Please. Just let me save him.”

**“ _If you do this, I cannot take you out of the loop. You will have to find your own way free.”_**

“I know.”

**“ _And you still wish this?”_**

_The darkness is growing. The stars are going out. He is starting to dissolve._

“Yes.”

_The thing hums. Vaguely surprised._

**“… _very well. I will do this for you.”_**

“And the price?”

**“ _You will know of it later. Goodbye, small one…I hope I never see you again.”_**

“W-wait!”

_The stars are gone. There is only darkness, swirling and spinning and choking and ripping at him and he is screaming as he melts into the shadows, becoming one of them himself and losing everything—_

“Judai-nii? Hey, Judai-nii!”

“Nnngh?”

Judai opened his eyes, groggy and uncertain of where he was for a moment.

“Wha…?” he mumbled. “Lua…?”

“Are you okay?” Lua said, nose wrinkled up with concern. “You were mumbling a lot in your sleep. And you looked like you were sweating. Luka does that when she's having a bad dream.”

Judai blinked through the sleepiness, sitting up. Where was he again? Right. The couch. After he had come back from going out with Yusei, Yusei had gotten a call from Crow about something going on with Security, and he had had to go out. Jack and Bruno had gone along; something to do with an old friend of Crow's and something about a card? Judai had offered to come along, but Yusei had insisted that he stay back and rest. So Judai had sat down on the couch and…passed out, he guessed.

Lua was still leaning over him, looking very serious, but ending up looking a bit comical in his focus. Judai gave him a smile and ruffled his hair, causing him to squeak with protest.

“I'm fine, kid. Thanks, though.”

He groaned, cracking his back.

“What are you doing here, anyway?”

“I came to see Yusei…but he's not here, is he?”

“Nah. He went out with Crow and the others a little earlier. Something about a card. Where's your sister?”

“Bathroom. She should be down in a minute…”

Judai nodded as Lua plopped onto the couch beside him.

“So what are you doing today?” Lua asked.

Judai hesitated, getting a bit dizzy for a moment. He could see that haze again, dancing along the edge of his vision when he looked at Lua. If he switched to Yubel's eyes, would he see that heavy crimson aura again?

“Lua, are you sure you don't have any powers?” he said.

“Huh?” Lua said. “Yeah. I'm pretty sure. Unfortunately.”

He looked…really upset for a moment, and Judai felt guilty. The kid probably felt upset, being the odd one out…he shouldn't have brought it up.

“Hey, if it's any consolation, sometimes I wish I didn't have any,” Judai said lamely.

“That's what Luka says sometimes,” Lua said, sighing. “I think she's lying to make me feel better.”

He dropped his eyes to his knees, kicking his feet back and forth. Judai bit his lip. While Lua wasn't looking, he let his eyes flicker to Yubel's for a moment.

No. He wasn't imagining it. There was a thick red aura clinging to Lua, the same way it clung to Aki and Luka. It was…muted, somehow, but it was there. Was that the hint of a seal he saw, burnt into the edges of Lua's soul? Who would seal the powers of a kid his age? And why? Judai was positive now; the Crimson Dragon was expressing itself through Lua in some way, but it was—blocked. Should he bring it up?

And was…was the Crimson Dragon the thing that he kept sensing in his dreams? There was definitely something that was pushing through in these weird vision-like nightmares. But were they visions, flashbacks, or was he contacting something in his sleep?

No, Judai decided. It wasn't the Crimson Dragon. The Dragon was a warmth, an ancient and voiceless presence, he sensed. It wouldn't have…spoken to him from the darkness. It wouldn't have felt like it was choking him, either. It was a being of light, not darkness. Whatever was invading his dreams, it wasn't the Dragon.

But the Dragon was affecting Lua in some way. And Judai was starting to think maybe he _should_ say something. If the world was in trouble, didn't they need all the help they could get?

“Lua—”

“Geez, those boys never put more toilet paper in when it runs out! I swear…”

Judai bit off his sentence as Luka appeared at the top of the steps, wiping off the water from cleaning her hands onto her shorts.

“Hey there, Luka-chan,” Judai called, leaning back over the couch to see her. “How are you?”

Luka smiled and ducked her head as she trotted over to them.

“I-I'm doing well today, how are you, Judai-san?”

Lua snickered and said something inaudible under his breath.

“What?” Judai said.

Luka flushed and smacked Lua on the head as he ducked away, giggling.

“Luka has a—” he started, but Luka grabbed him and put a hand over his mouth, flushing a bright red.

“Shut _up_ , Lua!” she hissed.

Judai blinked. He half smiled, amused by their antics but not completely understanding what they were for.

“S-so where is everyone else today?” Luka asked.

“Dunno. They all had something to do over at Security, I guess.”

“I bet Ushio-oji and Mikage-oba had something new about Bruno!” Lua said, wriggling out from Luka's grip. “I bet they're gonna find out where he came from soon!”

“One can only hope, right?” Judai said. “Must suck, not knowing anything about yourself…”

“Yeah…poor Bruno,” Luka said, frowning.

They went quiet for a few moments. Then Judai sighed, stretching again.

“So what are you two up to today?” Judai asked.

“Dunno,” Lua said. “We were gonna hang out here, but everyone's gone…oh! You want to go out for lunch with us?”

“Is it that time already?” Judai said, frowning.

He glanced at his watch. Wow. Already one o'clock.

“We can go to that place across the street, or ooooh, I think a new coffee shop opened up downtown! And we can have a duel maybe! I think there's a place that has those vintage Duel Boxes or we can go to the park and use the Duel Disks!”

“Lua, settle down and let him answer!!” Luka said.

Judai grinned. Man, this kid's enthusiasm was refreshing.

“Yeah, lunch sounds good. And I'd love to duel. Been a while since I've had a nice friendly duel.”

“All RIGHT!” Lua said, punching the air.

“Where do you want to go for lunch?” Luka asked.

“Well, I've never been to this decade before, so you guys can pick.”

“Luka, Luka, Luka, let's show him Acapella! That's your favorite place right? And it has the Duel Boxes!”

“Um, are you okay with burgers?” Luka asked. “That's mostly what Acapella sells…”

Judai smiled reassuringly at her; she seemed nervous for some reason.

“Burgers sound great actually. Oh, but…”

He frowned, patting at his pockets.

“I think I may be fresh out of cash…”

“Oh, that's fine, Luka and I can pay,” Lua said.

“I can't ask you to do that.”

“No, really, it's fine! Mom and dad always leave us a butt-ton for food and stuff. Right, Luka?”

“He's not wrong,” Luka said.

Judai frowned.

“What do you mean they 'leave' it with you?”

“They're not really around much,” said Luka, shrugging. “They work in other cities.”

“Then you guys are living by yourselves?”

“It's fine! We're at the very top of Tops, so it's really safe!” Lua said.

“That's good, but that's not really what I meant. Your parents leave you alone?”

The pair glanced at each other, and then nodded at Judai. They looked so nonchalant about it. Like it was _normal_ for parents to leave their young children home alone for long periods of time, just leaving some money with them and letting them go. Judai's lips tightened a bit, the similarity hitting just a bit too close to home. Dammit. Wasn't there a such thing as a good set of parents anymore?

“Never mind,” Judai said, shaking his head. “Okay, so…you guys are leading, then. I don't know where the heck anything is.”

Both kids brightened considerably now that the topic of their parents was passed. Judai still frowned as he followed the twins up the stairs and out into the hot day outside. Missing parents, a mysterious presence in his dreams, the blocked powers of Lua…everything was swiftly getting more and more tangled. Why was he here? Why had he been brought to this time and place? Nothing made sense.

It was a warm, busy day in the city. People bustled back and forth, voices calling out through the humid air. Heat radiated up from the sidewalk. It wasn't long before Judai was taking off his jacket and tying it around his waist instead.

“Whew!” he said rubbing at his arms. “Hot one today.”

Lua poked Luka in the side with his elbow, nodded towards Judai, and snickered. Luka flushed and pushed him, nearly making him bounce off someone in the stream of people. He just laughed and ran away. He disappeared between people up ahead. Judai glanced down at Luka, confused.

“What was that about?”

Luka still looked red.

“N-nothing,” she said. “Um, the place is this way.”

They wove their way around the crowd of people. It was an easy, meandering walk, and Judai didn't really mind the heat too much now. It felt good to have the humidity clinging to his skin, as though that could chase away the cold of the dream that had threatened to swallow him up.

“So, hey,” Judai said. “I was thinking I could start helping you out with your spirit powers today. Mind telling me more about what you've already done with them? What kind of spirits have you met?”

Luka's eyes lit up.

“R-Really?” she said. “W-well, Kuribon's always been around, since as long as I can remember. When I was a kid, I went into a coma, and I was in the spirit world for a while with Ancient Fairy Dragon and some others…oh! And I can summon Regulus a lot.”

Judai nodded, stepping around someone stopped in the walkway, shouting into their phone.

“So you've astral projected before,” he said. “Ancient Fairy Dragon? I don't think I've met them before.”

“She's the guardian of the forest,” Luka said. “At least that's what she told me…”

“There's a lot of forests,” Judai said, grinning. “At least fifty of 'em in Fairy's Peak alone.”

Luka blushed, ducking her head.

“I guess I don't know very much,” she mumbled.

Judai patted her on the back.

“No worries, okay? I didn't know much when I was your age either. And I certainly never astral projected before I was fifteen, so you're already ahead! I still learn new things every day; the spirit worlds are really, really big. And there's more of them than you think.”

“Wow…” Luka whispered. She got a faraway look in her eyes, and almost ran into someone. “It's…I never really thought much about it…but everything's so much bigger than I thought, isn't it?”

Judai smiled.

“I think that's what we all think at some point in our lives,” he said. “Let's catch up to your brother. I'll have a look at your deck and see what I can get out of that; maybe try to meet with your other spirit friends. We can start practicing some short trips to the spirit world soon.”

“That would be great!” Luka said, trotting to keep up.

Lua was waiting at the door, a small but very cute cafe with the word Acapella written in fancy golden script over the top.

“You two having fun?” Lua said, grinning.

“Oh, hush, you,” said Luka, pushing past him.

Lua sent Judai a cross-eyed grin and scurried after his sister. Judai frowned. Seriously, what was up with those two today? It was almost like…

Oh. Oooooh.

Judai hesitated for a moment, feeling a slight groan coming on. Then he just had to laugh, covering his mouth with his hand to still the sound. Luka had a crush on him. She was a lot subtler about it than Rei had been, so he might not have noticed if not for Lua's teasing…oh man. How was he going to deal with _this_?

— _Just leave it. She'll get over it—_

“Oh, _now_ you decide to commentate?” Judai muttered, slipping through the glass doors into the cool, dim interior of the cafe. “What, are you jealous?”

Yubel sniffed at the back of his head.

— _She is barely twelve. Of course I'm not jealous—_

“You're a terrible liar,” Judai teased.

Yubel sunk back under his consciousness as he smiled to himself, making his way over to where the twins had claimed a booth. He slid into the place across from the pair, noting the way that Luka ducked her head to the menu. He grimaced—he had literally no idea how to handle this. Maybe Yubel was right, and he should just not acknowledge it. At least for now.

“This place has the best burgers!” Lua said. “You should totally get this one! It's my favorite!”

He pointed to a picture on the menu, and Judai leaned over to see, grinning.

The spark of red aura was almost overwhelming. Judai gasped, flinching back. Lua blinked.

“Something wrong?”

“No…nothing. Just some static.”

Judai glanced at the twins again. He let Yubel's eyes flicker open for a moment, just enough.

The aura was getting stronger. Was it reacting to his own aura? He could feel his shadows straining from his grip, and he reined them in.

 _That seal is rudimentary_ , Judai thought, frowning as he glanced at Lua, seeing the red pushing out from him like it wanted to explode. _It could seriously hurt him if it breaks._

But again…who would seal Lua's powers and ignore Luka's?

The red aura, the girl with spirit powers, the boy with a seal on his own mysterious powers, their missing parents, the presence in his dream.

“ _We're here because Yusei is in danger.”_

Despite the heat, Judai shuddered. Something was definitely afoot here. And he was going to figure out what.

. . .

Judai was in the middle of a rather engrossing conversation with a giant lion when Lua's phone started ringing. Luka and Judai glanced away from Regulus for a moment, the great spirit sitting primly in the corner of the old Duel Box—Judai had invited him across to this dimension to talk about Luka's abilities and what they could work with, and the vintage, still working Duel Box was perfect cover for bringing a spirit to reality. People around the restaurant just assumed it was a hologram, especially because Judai and Lua were also playing a friendly duel on the table to help draw even more suspicion away from the spirit.

“Lua,” Luka said, looking annoyed. “I thought you were going to silence your phone.”

“Sh, it's Yusei,” said Lua.

“Hmm? What's up with him?” Judai said.

He realized then that it was already starting to get incredibly late. Was the sun setting already? How long had they been sitting in the Duel Box? Well, he had made a lot of progress in figuring out where Luka was in terms of her abilities. She was far more skilled than he had first thought; she just tended to put a lot more energy into whatever she was doing than she had to. No one had taught her how to cap off her powers when she had given enough—that was why she was so faint all the time. She seemed to be constantly exuding a spiritual presence.

He shook his head, lips pressing together. It still didn't make sense. Any of it. Obviously, there was someone close to them that was skilled enough to put a very complex seal on Lua's powers. But they had ignored Luka's incredible potential, letting her leak magic everywhere. It was no wonder her parents had kept her home for so long; her magic was leaking so much that she would have near full on epileptic attacks every so often, and always seemed pretty weak, getting winded very easily.

And yet, despite the skill of the seal on Lua, there hadn't been anyone around able to teach her about her powers? For gods' sakes, the girl had passed out into a coma for three months because she was expending so much energy twenty-four/seven that her young body could hardly handle it.

Nothing made sense. He considered talking to Yusei about it—but what would Yusei know that Judai didn't? Still, it was a better course of action than anything else Judai could think of. He wasn't sure how to bring it up with the kids yet. They seemed unwilling to talk much about their parents, and he didn't want to make them uncomfortable. He had a sneaking suspicion that both strange situations for the twins had something to do with their missing parents.

“Good news!!” Lua said finally, punching the air with his phone hand. “Yusei and everyone got the program finished! Their D-Wheels are all set, and they even got someone to put the engines back together!”

“That's great!” Luka said.

She brightened, leaning forward on her chair.

“What happened with Security, then?” Judai said, frowning.

“Yusei said he'll tell us the whole story when we get there but he says that Crow finally got Blackfeather Dragon!! Luka, Luka, Luka, come on, we have to go see, I want to see his card!”

“He found his Signer dragon?” Luka said, clapping her hands with delight. “That's great!! We all have our dragons now!”

Judai vaguely remembered Luka, Lua, and Aki telling him about the Signer dragons, and how that was the monster that was supposed to help them stop the Dark Signers. So Crow hadn't had his yet? Weird. Everything seemed to be happening at once.

“Well, I think we've made enough progress today, then,” Judai said. “Thank you for your help, Regulus.”

Regulus dipped his big head, and Luka reached out to scratch him behind the ears in thanks. Although he looked a bit miffed, it was easy to see that he enjoyed the affection. He vanished in a puff of smoke as Judai stood up. He cracked his back and stretched.

“Ugh,” he said. “Been sitting too long. Good game, Lua.”

“You beat me three times in a row,” Lua said, pouting as he gathered up his cards. “And you weren't even paying attention most of the time.”

Judai smiled a bit guiltily. He had meant to go easy on him but he just hadn't been thinking and went on autopilot…

“I've been at this for a while; don't feel too badly…”

“Man,” Lua moaned, as they exited the Duel Box. “I'm never gonna get good at this. My win record is only twenty-six percent right now, at this rate I'm gonna get kicked out of Duel Academy.”

“You kids go to DA?” Judai said.

They walked out into the warmth of the ending day, slipping into the crowds of people headed home.

“Yeah! Luka's the best in our class right now. What's your win record again?”

“I think…eighty-nine percent?”

“See?? Even my sister is better than me, and I've been playing longer!”

Lua folded his arms and pouted. Judai shook his head, smiling. He reached out to ruffle the boy's hair.

“Hey,” he said. “You know, dueling against me isn't a good indication of your skills. You're really good. I can tell.”

“You took me out in three turns,” Lua said. “At least that one game.”

“Yeah, and I've been tournament tier since I was eleven. You're _good_ , Lua. You just gotta relax a bit, believe in your cards. You'll get there.”

But he frowned a bit to himself, as they wove around the crowds of people. It was odd that Lua wasn't more skilled at the game. Luka didn't seem very invested in it, and yet she was better than the much more intense Lua. It wasn't that Lua didn't know the rules, either; he was smart and played well with what he drew. Judai knew enough about Duel Monsters to know that the cards reacted with souls. Could the seal be interfering with Lua's abilities in the game as well?

He was definitely going to have to talk to Yusei. These things might be small, but they might also be the reason why Judai was here. After all, no one noticed auras except him. That meant he could be the only person in this group with that ability. Perhaps that was why he was here—it was at least worth a shot at investigating.

Lua ran ahead of him and Luka, so excited was he to see the new and improved D-Wheels. Judai half smiled at the boy's cheer, but it was hard to stay cheerful himself. Not with all these thoughts running through his head.

He burst through the door before they did, calling for Yusei, and Luka seemed to be getting excited too as she started to run to catch up.

“Are the D-Wheels really done?” Lua was calling. “Whoaaaa!”

Judai had to grin. He came in through the door after the twins. The first thing he saw were the three D-Wheels, which didn't look that much different than usual. But then the second thing he noticed was Yusei standing in front of his red D-Wheel, turning to smile at the twins in that gentle way of his.

Yusei was wearing a new riding suit, a dark colored thing similar to his normal jacket that hugged his frame pretty tightly. It greatly accentuated the slender curve of his hips and barely indicated the definition of his muscles.

Judai realized then that his mouth was weirdly dry and there was a heat blossoming over his cheeks.

“Wow! Are those new riding suits?” Lua asked, running down the stairs to meet with Yusei, Luka on his heels.

“Yep,” Yusei said, smiling.

“Oy, oy, check mine out!” Crow said, jumping into view with a huge smile. “And take a look at this!”

He pushed a card towards the twins, a white one like those new Synchro monsters that Judai was still getting used to. Lua and Luka gasped with delight, but Judai was still distracted by Yusei, so he barely paid attention.

Yusei glanced up at him. He smiled slightly—that same gentle, quiet smile of his that seemed so subdued, and yet so expressive. Judai swallowed.

“Hey,” he managed. “Looking good.”

“Hah, thanks,” Yusei said. “I'm just glad all of this is set up finally…practice runs are tomorrow.”

Judai nodded, still frozen at the top of the stairs for a few more moments. Then Jack started snapping something irritably at the twins, probably annoyed that he was getting ignored, and Aki poked him teasingly, and whatever spell had been on Judai dissipated. He remembered, then, that he had wanted to talk to Yusei about Lua and Luka. Could he maybe get Yusei alone for a few moments?

He hopped down the stairs.

“Have a look! The D-Wheels are all set,” Bruno said.

His eyes shone with pride as he patted Jack's D-Wheel. Jack glared at him, but Bruno wasn't paying attention.

“They look about the same to me…did you do something with the engines?” Judai said.

It was probably the wrong thing to say, because Bruno's eyes lit up and he immediately jumped into a highly detailed discussion of exactly what they did to fine tune the engine program, rattling off strings of numbers and equations and something about friction reduction and overheating prevention. Judai had absolutely no idea what he was saying and tuned out about three seconds in, tilting his head to look at the D-Wheels.

“What's the 5D's stand for?” he said.

Yusei glanced over.

“Oh,” he said. “That's going to be our team name. It's for these…”

He pushed his sleeve up to show the dull red mark layered on top of his skin, in the shape of the Crimson Dragon's head.

“5D's…” Judai said, saying it out loud. “That's English characters, right?”

“It's for the five marks, and the five dragons,” Yusei said, smiling.

“Right! That's the thing that connects us!” Luka said, touching her own sleeve.

Aki, Crow, and Jack all instinctively reached for their own right arms. Lua looked down at his own arm, frowning for a minute. But then he glanced up with a smile.

“I don't have one, but if it wasn't for Luka's mark I wouldn't have met everyone!” he said. “So that's a good name I think!! You guys are going to totally win the whole thing!”

Yusei laughed softly.

“We can only hope,” he said, ruffling Lua's hair. “Thank you.”

Lua grinned with a slight blush.

Judai felt his own smile slip a bit. Five marks. Five dragons. But six red auras.

As Bruno continued to chatter on about the engine, oblivious to the fact that no one was listening, and Lua and Luka started to tease Jack about something, Judai slipped over to Yusei.

“Hey,” he said quietly. “Do you have a minute…? I think I need to talk to you about something…”

Yusei frowned slightly, but he nodded.

“Everyone's busy, they won't mind if we step out for a second,” he murmured back.

Judai nodded. After a beat waiting to see if anyone was paying attention, Yusei beckoned Judai after him, and they slipped off upstairs, leaving the noise of below behind.

* * *

The riding suit was kind of hot in the lack of air conditioning upstairs, so he paused long enough to duck into his room and change into his tank top and jeans before he rejoined Judai in the hallway.

Judai looked uncertain, but that expression had become more and more normal for Yusei. He didn't really like to see Judai like that…he wished that it was possible for his friend to relax a bit. Even during that duel against Paradox, with the world at stake, he had been able to enjoy himself a bit. It had been inspiring to Yusei, to see him able to smile even in the face of danger.

This Judai, however, was more withdrawn. Nervous. Yusei felt a strange need to reach out and just hold the boy's shoulders, try to exude more calm and cheer into him. It wasn't fair that Judai had to be so uncertain. It wasn't fair that he had to be thinking about what was wrong all the time. The circumstances were odd, that was for certain…but at this moment, all he could think of was how much he wanted to see Judai smiling again. There was something about his smile that lit up his entire face, erased the worry lines and the uncertainty in his eyes for even a brief moment. Yusei wanted to make him smile.

But that wasn't the issue right now; Judai had something important to tell him.

“So what's going on?” Yusei said.

Judai sighed, shifting on his feet.

“It's about Lua and Luka,” he said. “Mostly Lua. Yusei, has he ever shown any signs of powers? Ever done anything…that seems weird? Known something that maybe he shouldn't have and not been able to explain why?”

Yusei frowned.

“Well…I've only known him for…six months? I can't think of anything…he's always been normal, out of all of us…”

Judai nodded slowly. Yusei tilted his head.

“Why? Is there something wrong with him?”

“That's the thing…I don't know.”

Judai sighed, folding his arms.

“…Lua has a seal on him. Someone burned it into his soul to suppress his powers.”

Yusei's mouth dropped open slightly.

“You—what? How can you—what does that mean?”

His head spun for a moment, and he closed his eyes. Lua? Lua had always been normal. The part of their group they could count on to bring them back to earth. He often resented his lack of powers, to be sure, but he was…grounding. For Yusei, Lua had always been the reality check. A symbol of how powerful an ordinary person could be. And Judai was telling him that Lua _did_ have powers?

“Oh god,” he muttered. “Have you told him yet?”

He couldn't imagine how that would affect him. The young boy had wanted to have powers like the rest of them for so long, but how would he feel if he actually had them? If he suddenly got them now? Would he be overwhelmed by it? Would it make him be more reckless? Oh god, if he tried to do more heroic things than he already did he would get himself killed.

“No, I haven't mentioned anything,” Judai said. “I just…I don't understand. Why they would seal him and not Luka. Because Luka's incredible. She has a whole reservoir of power that she's barely even scratched. And it's just constantly flowing out of her.”

“She's just constantly leaking power?”

“Yeah. Aki does it too, but not on the level that Luka does. It's the reason she's so weak and easily winded. I've taught her a few breathing exercises to help her slow it down but…I don't get it. Why seal Lua, but not Luka? Does that mean Lua has _more_ power than Luka?”

Judai frowned. His jaw clenched.

“And if there was someone skilled enough around to seal Lua's powers, then why didn't they stick around to teach the kids how to use them? Nothing makes sense. Do you even know what happened to their parents?”

“No. They don't talk about them—although I have asked.”

Yusei shook his head. He had always hated the idea of those two living alone. It was one thing to be like him, to have parents that simply couldn't be there because, well, they were dead. It wasn't their fault, not entirely, that they hadn't been able to raise Yusei. But to have living parents that simply up and left? Leaving a pair of kids barely twelve years old to fend for themselves?

“How long have they been living alone?”

“I don't know. I asked Luka once, and she couldn't remember. She just said their parents left to work elsewhere sometime after her coma…so around three, four years ago.”

“Incredible timing,” Judai said dryly. “Sounds like someone didn't want to deal with it. But to not even leave anyone with them? Not even a babysitter?”

The boy's eyes darkened slightly, and it didn't seem to just be a trick of the light. This wasn't the first time that Yusei had seen Judai's eyes change color. It seemed to be connected to Judai's powers—he had already seen the bichromatic eyes of Yubel in their duel against Paradox, and the flat gold that had arisen during Judai's panic attack.

“…you think the parents and the sealing are connected.”

“Yeah. I think they might have had something to do with it, at least. Hard to say without knowing even who they are.”

“That's the hard part. Lua and Luka's surname isn't even listed in their enrollment forms.”

“What?”

Judai looked legitimately shocked. Yusei shrugged.

“I might have…looked into it myself,” Yusei said. “But it's weird. I couldn't find any information at all. There are records of parents being residents in the same apartment as the twins, but only the twin's names are listed. No surnames. No given names for the parents. It's like their parents don't even exist.”

Judai shook his head slowly.

“Something's up,” he said. “I wonder…is this why I'm here? None of you can see auras, can you?”

“I…did once,” Yusei said. “But only for a moment, when the full mark of the Crimson Dragon came to me. And I used that to see and grab the aura of the Majestic Dragon. That's it.”

“Then maybe this is why I'm here. Something's going on here, and it might have to do with the twins—hell, it might have to do with the Crimson Dragon itself. The Dragon can travel through time, right? Maybe it brought me here.”

But he didn't sound certain of that at all, and in fact, his brows drew together as though even he didn't believe what he was saying.

“Judai,” Yusei whispered.

“There are just so many variables,” Judai said, not reacting to Yusei's quiet voice. “The parents, the auras, the seals, the fact that Luka's never had training, Aki might be involved somehow too; and then if those three have definite expressions of power then where are yours, Jack's, and Crow's? Unless these powers aren't the expression of the Crimson Dragon and the marks, but something else entirely—”

“Judai,” Yusei said again, more firmly.

Judai stopped. He was starting to look drawn, pale, legitimately worked up. Yusei stepped forward, putting his hands on Judai's shoulders.

“We don't have to figure this all out tonight,” he said. “In fact, I don't think we _can_. We need to step back. Take a breath.”

Judai complied, drawing in a deep breath and letting it out.

“There,” Yusei said soothingly. “It's going to be okay. Okay? There _is_ a reason you were brought here. But we can't get worked up over it. I do believe that the answer will show itself in time. But you might not see it if all you are doing is thinking down the same paths, over and over.”

“Then I have to think about the other paths…”

“Which you're not going to see if you get worked up,” said Yusei, squeezing Judai's shoulders. “You need to relax. We _will_ find out what's going on. But right now, I think you need to sleep. Do you think you can?”

“I…I think so.”

Yusei nodded. He stood there for perhaps a moment longer than necessary, still holding Judai. The boy trembled very slightly, and Yusei wanted nothing more in that moment but to step forward and hold Judai against him, to chase away those shivers. But…he wasn't sure if that was alright.

He dropped his hands from Judai's shoulders.

“If you have a nightmare, or need _anything_ , please come and get me,” Yusei said. “Promise me?”

Judai smiled uncertainly.

“Promise,” he said.

Yusei smiled. They stood there for a moment. Then Judai bobbed his head in acknowledgment, and turned towards the guest room. Yusei waited until Judai had disappeared inside before he stepped towards his own room. He hesitated, his eyes wandering back to the closed door of the guest room.

Lua's seal. Luka's powers. The twins' missing parents. Things that he had never before considered, at least, not before Judai had arrived. He had been more concerned with Ghost and the Meklords.

Something certainly was going on…but what, exactly?

And why was Judai here in the first place?

Yusei shuddered, feeling cold all of a sudden. He stepped into the room to start getting ready for bed. Tomorrow was the practice run before the WRGP finally began. He needed his sleep. He had to be ready for tomorrow…just about anything could happen, couldn't it?

 


	8. Aranea

It was a quiet morning. Too quiet. Where were the sounds of D-Wheels zooming around on the Duel Lanes? Cars on the freeways? It could be, of course, because he was kind of on an out of the way lane. It could be because most D-Wheelers were moving towards the practice lanes towards the center of the city, where teams were getting ready for the WRGP. After all, even non-participants wanted to watch.

But it still felt weird, and it was giving Ushio Tetsu the shivers.

He scowled, leaning on his D-Wheel. There was nothing even here to patrol. The newest administration of Security and the Public Maintenance Bureau had been doing this a lot lately. Scheduling officers to patrol out of the way, obscure Duel Lanes. It wasn’t like they were hidden; they just weren’t convenient. Drug rings and crime organizations didn’t even use them. They weren’t connected enough to the web of life that they relied on. What was the point? Ushio knew for a fact that officers were growing thin out in the most important places, where crime was high and dueling more common. So why send officers—the best officers, at that, not that Ushio was trying to brag—to these places?

_I feel like we’re being moved out of the way…but out of the way of what?_

Ushio growled. It was far too nice a day for him to be so grumpy but he felt on edge. Something about how it was quiet. Too quiet.

Well, it didn’t matter. One more hour and he was scheduled to be working the practice runs. He’d probably get to see Yusei and the others; that was something to look forward too.

With that thought in mind, he leaned back against his D-Wheel, sighing deeply.

It was only then that he noticed someone standing on the Duel Lane.

He swore, standing straight up.

It was a youngish looking man; he couldn’t have been older than thirty, and could have easily been twenty. His long, dull green hair was pulled back into a ponytail that draped over one shoulder. Dark eyes, the color indistinct from here, glanced out from an aristocratic face. He was pale-skinned, his face gently curved with prominent cheekbones. He stood with an air of regality, his clothing evidently well-made and vaguely out of the time period, although Ushio couldn’t quite his finger on why.

But where had he come from? Ushio saw no D-Wheel, and this wasn’t someplace you could just walk to, at least, not with Ushio having seen him.

“Excuse me,” he called. “Sir. Are you lost? Can I be of assistance?”

The man glanced at him, almost as though surprised to see him.

“Ah,” he said. “So they were probably expecting me. In some fashion or another.”

He shrugged, almost to himself. Then he began to walk, passing Ushio without a word.

“Hey,” Ushio said, getting irritated. “Wait a minute, there, I don’t have the faintest clue how you got here, and I’m going find—”

He stopped as the man turned to face him, words dying in his throat.

The man’s eyes were completely, utterly black. No pupils. No irises. No whites. Just completely black.

“Hm,” he said, seemingly looking Ushio over.

Ushio found his voice, then, and managed a few sentences—even managed to make himself sound irritated.

“Is there a problem, sir?” he snapped. “I’m going to have to know what you’re doing out here.”

The man blinked once, eerie eyes staring right at Ushio—at least, he assumed they were. Hard to tell without pupils.

“What I’m doing…?” he said, slowly, as though testing the words. “Hm. Not sure yet.”

He cocked his head.

“I suppose I was curious.”

And then, he simply stepped back, and kept walking. Ushio couldn’t move. He felt a chill running down his spine unlike anything he had felt before, even back during the whole Dark Signers fiasco.

 _He doesn’t have a shadow_ , he thought vaguely as he watched the man walk literally out of sight. Just, one moment, he was walking, and the next, he simply wasn’t there.

Ushio stood there staring for who knows how long. By the time he checked his watch, he swore, and leapt onto his D-Wheel. He was going to be late for patrolling at the practice runs.

But as he zoomed off on his D-Wheel, his strange encounter haunted him.

 _There was something familiar about that face,_ he thought. _Something…something I can’t quite put my finger on._

And while he thought about how he was going to write this into a report, another thought occurred to him. He was gonna have to tell Yusei about this. That kid was the only one around that might have an idea of what was going on.

**. . .**

Judai was having a bit of trouble relaxing, although today was _supposed_ to be a relaxing day.

“Look, look at how fast they’re going!!” Lua said, practically bouncing up and down. “They’re so cool!”

It was a warm, clear day out on the practice runs. The heat had backed off for once, leaving them with just toasty warmth from the sun and the perfect breeze to match. The smell of rubber burnt on concrete filled the air, mixing up with a faint metallic hint of steel and the thick scents of fried food. There wasn’t a huge turnout at the practice lane, but there wasn’t a tiny one, either. There was just enough people to make Judai feel nervous, although he reminded himself over and over that crowds were not something he had to be scared of.

 _Geez, if I’m like this now, imagine me at the WRGP_ , he thought wryly. Because he was going to watch Team 5D’s, there was no doubt about that. He sucked in a steadying breath and focused on the blur of speed out on the track.

Yusei, Crow, and Jack had control of the practice lanes for now. They definitely did look good out there, although Judai had little to compare to. He could hardly see them for the blur.

“Is that even safe?” he said.

“Probably not,” Luka said. She looked a little queasy. “Remind me not to be a D-Wheeler.”

“I can’t wait until I’m old enough for my license!!” Lua said, punching the air. “I’m gonna be so cool!”

“Are you ready to crash a few billion times?” Aki said with a smile. “Because that’s how it starts.”

“It’s okay! I have a hard head!”

Aki laughed softly, and Judai cracked a smile. Lua leaned forward with excitement, grinning widely. His cheer was infectious, and even though looking at him drew Judai’s mind back to the mysteries of the twins, he couldn’t help but keep smiling.

“Ooh, look!” Lua said, pointing. “It’s Ushio-oji!”

“Where?” said Luka, jumping to her tiptoes. “Oh! We should go say hi!”

The twins leapt up and scurried down the stairs.

“Hold up, guys, wait,” Judai called. “Geez.”

He glanced at Aki as he stood up.

“So…who’s Ushio?”

“He’s a Security officer,” Aki said, following Judai down the stairs after the twins. “He and Yusei had a pretty rocky start, but they’re good friends. He helped us a bit with the Dark Signers.”

“Oh. Cool.”

Judai wasn’t a huge fan of police officers himself, but a friend of Yusei’s was trustworthy enough.

The twins were already there, chatting with Ushio. He was a big man, with thick eyebrows and a pretty nasty scar from one eye. He was grinning, though, and had a cheery sort of disposition about him, especially with the twins. He reached over the gate to ruffle Lua’s hair at something the younger boy said. Then he glanced up as Aki and Judai approached, smiling and raising a hand in greeting.

“Hey there, Aki-san,” he said. “How’re you?”

“Doing well, how about you?” said Aki, smiling.

“Ehh. Can’t complain. Getting some really boring shifts lately, though. Those I _will_ complain about.”

He frowned for a moment, looking uncertain. Then he shrugged.

“Who’s your new friend?” he asked, glancing at Judai.

“Name’s Judai. Yuki Judai,” Judai said, nodding. “Friend of Yusei’s.”

“Another one, huh? I swear you all come out of the woodwork. Like ants. How many friends does he have, anyway?”

“A lot,” Judai said, grinning.

Ushio barked a short laugh.

“Can’t argue with that. Call me Ushio. I guess I’m Yusei’s friend. Most of the time.”

He checked his watch.

“Aw, shit. Shift’s over. I have to head out to Duel Lane 24.”

He looked miffed as he threw his leg over his D-Wheel.

“I was kinda hoping Yusei’d be done with his run before I left,” he muttered. “Oy, Aki-san, when he comes back in, will you tell ‘im I need to talk to him?”

“Sure,” Aki said, cocking her head. “Is something wrong?”

“Don’t think so…but I thought I’d check.”

He frowned again. Then he shook his head, and revved up his engine.

“See you kids around. Don’t go making more trouble, you hear?”

“We’ll be good, Ushio-oji!” Lua said.

“And stop calling me that; makin’ me feel old, kid.”

He grinned, gave the group a two-fingered salute, and then zoomed off.

Judai watched him go, curious about what he needed to talk to Yusei about. Something about his expression…he hoped it was nothing wrong.

His eyes turned back toward the Duel Lanes.

“They’re about done, right?” Judai said.

“Should be,” Aki said.

Just as she was saying that, the PA system blared out a _“Team 5D’s, your practice time is ending. Please return to the starting line.”_

“Speak of the devil,” Judai said, grinning.

He leaned over the railing, straining his eyes to see them coming in. Bruno was already down there at the line to run the final checks on the D-Wheels when they arrived, fumbling with his clipboard.

Judai vaguely noticed the next team getting ready for their practice run. But then something caught his eye—something tiny, but enough to throw his senses into overdrive, make him notice every detail, like he was on the battlefield again and the tiniest movement could mean the difference between life and death.

First he noticed that the next team, Team Unicorn, was moving someone out onto the track—a good five minutes too early. Next, he noticed that Crow, who was the closest to coming in, had accelerated instead of slowing down. And then, he noticed the Team Unicorn member slipping out into the track, the way the helmeted head glanced quickly back towards Crow, the careful, measured way they angled in at just the right speed—

“Crow’s gonna crash,” Judai said, leaping up. “Crow! Crow, slow down—”

Too late. The new D-Wheels were definitely much faster than the originals because Crow didn’t even have time to react before he was basically on top of the other duelist. With a massive undertaking of skill, he managed to angle the Blackbird so that it just grazed against the side of the other D-Wheel. There was still enough momentum to send the other duelist spinning out of control. He bailed before it crashed to the side, hitting the ground and skidding a few feet. Crow pulled the Blackbird to a stop, yanking off his helmet as he leapt free.

“Oh my god, are you okay?” he shouted, running to the side of the fallen duelist. He moved to help the man sit up.

The other two duelists of the team ran out then, one of them grabbing Crow and pulling him up angrily. But by that time, Jack and Yusei had arrived, squealing to a stop. Jack rushed over to break Crow free from the other duelist’s grip. From this distance, Judai couldn’t hear what was happening. But it looked like one of Team Unicorn duelists was upset, at least.

“What happened?” Aki said, eyes wide. “How did that happen?”

Judai gripped the railing, straining to listen. The voices were a bit muffled from the distance, but he could technically increase his own hearing with his powers…was that eavesdropping?

He caught bits and pieces, though. Something about let’s have a quick duel and if you win we’ll let it slide.

His mind replayed the scene in his head for a moment. Then he saw Yusei and the lead of Team Unicorn moving towards their D-Wheels, the other two of each team moving back.

“They did that on purpose,” Judai said. “They want this duel.”

“They…what?” Aki said.

“That was way too calculated. The speed of the D-Wheeler. The angle. The way he was looking at Crow coming in. He was expecting to get broadsided. The way he landed? He was ready to take a fall. They orchestrated this.”

“But why?” Lua said, eyes wide.

Luka caught on first.

“They want to see what Yusei’s capable of,” Luka said, gasping. “They’re trying to see his strategy from the beginning!”

“What? That’s low!!” Lua said, fists clenching. “And look at how upset that made Crow-nii! And they yelled at him! That’s not fair!”

Lua actually looked like he was going to storm down there and give them a piece of his mind. But Judai grabbed his shoulder.

“We don’t have proof. Just my word. We can’t stop this from happening,” said Judai.

Aki looked positively furious herself, hand shaking.

“They want to have the advantage,” she muttered. “Either way they go about it, it’s wrong.”

“But Yusei will get to see their deck too, right?” Luka said.

“If they planned this far ahead, they’ll make sure they have a separate deck for this purpose,” Judai said.

He remembered the look in Yusei’s eye when he had talked about this tournament. A faraway, excited look. A tournament that was free of any darkness for him. And these people were going to take advantage of him to get an edge? He felt like he wanted to snap then and there. Taking advantage of a friend was unforgiveable—but what could he do? Yusei and the other guy were already mounting their D-Wheels.

An idea sprung to him.

“Hold on,” he said. “I’ll be right back.”

He vaulted the wall and landed lightly, bolting over to Yusei. He did siphon a bit of power to himself make him faster, so that he reached them before the timer even started. He grabbed Yusei’s shoulder. The boy jumped, glancing down.

“Judai?”

“It’s a set-up. They did that on purpose so they can see what your deck is like.”

Yusei’s eyes narrowed, lips tightened.

“I half suspected,” he muttered. “But what can we do now? It looks like our fault. They could press charges. Knock us out of the tournament.”

“They’ll have a different deck than their normal in order to see yours without giving you an equal advantage. So use this one.”

And he shoved his own deck into Yusei’s hand.

Yusei blinked, eyes widening.

“But…Judai…”

“Or combine the two, I don’t care, just use this to throw them off.”

Yusei stared at the deck for a moment.

“Hey! Are we going to do this or what?” the other duelist shouted.

Yusei met Judai’s eyes. Then he smiled.

“Thank you,” he whispered. “It will be like you’re fighting with me—like last time.”

“Stakes are a little lower this time,” said Judai, grinning. “Knock ‘em dead.”

“I will.”

Yusei surreptitiously swapped the two decks, pressing his own into Judai’s. Judai nodded, and saluted once. Then he stepped back to let Yusei get ready to take off.

The timer started.

_3…2…1…_

_BANG!_

The two shot off with an explosion of wind, ruffling Judai’s jacket. Judai watched them zoom off for a moment. Then he scurried back towards the bleachers, vaulting back in.

“What was that? What did you do?” Lua asked.

Judai grinned, holding up Yusei’s deck.

“Switcharoo,” he said. “If Yusei doesn’t get to see their deck, they don’t get to see his.”

“Whoa…that’s smart!” Lua said.

“But does Yusei know how to use your deck effectively?” asked Luka, frowning. “I mean…if they lose Team Unicorn might press charges.”

“Don’t worry,” Aki said. “Yusei is a pro.”

“Yeah; and he’s seen me use my deck before,” Judai said. “He’ll be fine. We gotta trust him.”

He turned to face the duel.

For the first time in a while, he felt excitement tingling through him at the promise of the duel. Most of the time, dueling became a chore. Something he had to do to keep balance in the world. Watching other duelists usually didn’t appeal to him. He couldn’t really participate in the enjoyment of being a spectator, so focused was he on his own missions.

But now…

He couldn’t wait to see what Yusei had to show him.

**. . .**

Judai jumped back from the D-Wheel with Yusei's normal deck just in time—the timer was about to go off. This was it. He shoved Judai's deck into the space and then accelerated.

The engine responded beautifully, coming alive under him in a way his D-Wheel never had before. With the wind buffeting his face and the speed dragging at his frame, he felt adrenaline pulse through his veins like blood. His previous uncertainty with this whole business melted.

Andore had accelerated well too—but his D-Wheel wasn't quite fast enough. Yusei found himself grinning as he leaned into the curve, taking the first curve just ahead of Andore.

 _All right_ , he thought. _Now…_

He reached for the deck, drawing the top five cards. This was Judai's deck. Judai's soul had gone into making this—he felt like he was handling something made of gold. He _knew_ how important these cards were to Judai. He was a true duelist, respecting and cherishing his cards. Yusei would definitely use them well.

He smiled at his hand. It was a good one, judging by what he knew of Judai's Hero deck. Wouldn't this throw Team Unicorn for a loop.

 _Thank you, Judai_ , he thought, and for a moment, he felt like he could feel Judai's heart pulsing in the cards themselves. _Please guide me_.

“My turn!” he shouted, drawing his first card. “All right!”

He glanced over his hand briefly.

“I'll summon Elemental Hero Avian!”

He flipped the card onto his Duel Disk. Wind blasted his face as the being emerged from the air, a tall, green feathered man with huge white wings. He couldn't help himself. He twisted back to see if he could see his friend's faces. They were pretty far away, but he thought he could see the shock there. An excited grin sprung to his face in spite of himself. Man, but did this feel good. He didn't have to worry about showing too many strategies, because he would be using exactly none of the ones today in the preliminary round tomorrow.

His eyes glanced over Andore as he turned back to face forward—and he thought he saw surprise there too.

 _He doesn't realize yet that this isn't my deck,_ Yusei thought. _He's just wondering because this card is unfamiliar._

Would Team Unicorn recognize that Yusei was not a Hero duelist? Or would they think he had changed decks since the Fortune Cup? Well, it didn't matter. Right now, he had to think about his own field.

“I'll set a card and end my turn,” he said, sinking the card into its slot.

“My turn! Draw!” Andore called.

There was a brief pause as he looked over his hand.

“I'll summon Playful Possum in attack mode!”

The field whirred, and a small possum appeared running next to Andore's D-Wheel.

“Playful Possum's effect,” said Andore. “When my opponent controls a monster with a higher attack, it can destroy itself!”

“What?” Yusei said, eyes widening.

The possum froze, and then rolled over, as though playing dead. Then it shattered into a bunch of tiny golden sparkles. Yusei tensed. There was a reason he had done that, and now the storm would come.

He wasn't disappointed.

“I activate the effect of Green Baboon, Defender of the Forest from my hand,” said Andore. “When a Beast-type monster on my field is destroyed, I can pay one thousand life points and special summon it from my hand!”

Yusei swerved to the left as the giant creature emerged—a huge, hulking thing that looked more goblin than baboon, carrying a huge club that looked like it could lop his head off with one swing.

_Avian has only 1000 attack points. Green Baboon has 2600. If I take this hit, I'll be down to 2400 in one blow._

He smirked, though, as they rounded the circuit and zoomed past the bleachers where everyone sat. Yusei glanced over—sure enough, Judai was grinning at him. He knew, didn't he? Yusei didn't plan on taking this hit.

“Green Baboon attacks Elemental Hero Avian,” Andore said, thrusting his hand forward.

The beast roared, lumbering after Avian.

“Trap card, open!” Yusei shouted. “Hero Barrier! When I control an Elemental Hero, it negates one attack!”

A shield whirled into life, crackling with energy. The baboon struck against it and practically bounced off, bouncing comically across the ground for a few beats.

 _If this truly is a fake deck to throw me off the scent,_ Yusei thought. _There is no reason for me to drag it out. None of this will be their real strategy. I need to finish this quickly._

Andore drew level with Yusei, looking a bit miffed, but impressed at the same time.

“I'll set two cards and end my turn,” he said. “You're good, Yusei; just as I thought you'd be. But is this your normal deck? I thought you ran machine types.”

Yusei shrugged good naturedly.

“Generally,” he called across. “I figured I'd rather keep my regular deck private before the match.”

Andore's lips tugged downwards slightly. Yusei half smiled.

 _Ruined your plan, didn't I?_ he thought. _We'll just be on an even playing field at the beginning. As it should be._

Yusei's turn. He yanked the next card from the deck and glanced at it. Immediately, he realized that he had overlooked a flaw in this plan.

Judai's deck did not have Speed Spells.

He swore under his breath, accelerating so that Andore would not see his expression change. He hadn't considered this—dammit, he was stupid! Judai's deck revolved around Polymerization, but his deck did not contain the Speed Spell version of it—without Fusion _or_ Synchro, Yusei was going to have a hell of a time of it. And without spell cards at all?

 _I really should have thought this through,_ he thought. _Dammit._

He stuck the useless Polymerization card into his hand slot and looked over his options.

Judai used a Fusion deck. That meant he would have multiple means of Fusion, not just the normal Polymerization. Yusei could count on finding a trap card or a monster effect that would allow him to circumvent this difficulty—but meanwhile, he would have to deal with a third of a deck that was essentially useless.

_Nothing is useless. I can make this work._

What was Andore's plan with this deck? If his baboon monster was to be taken as evidence of his strategy, it was a blunt power deck. Like Jack's. Judai's was much more technically involved, a quick, agile deck.

Yusei sucked a breath.

He could do this.

 _Judai,_ he thought, without even realizing what he was doing. _Judai—give me some of your strength._

Wait—the cards in his hand…he _did_ have a strategy without spell cards. It had occurred to him so easily after that quiet thought. As though Judai himself were sitting on the back of his D-Wheel, giving him pointers on how to use the deck. He could even avoid Fusion summoning, and completely giving away that this wasn't his deck. The less Andore knew about Judai's deck, the better.

Yusei grinned. He was back in action.

_Thanks, Judai._

“I switch Avian to defense mode,” Yusei shouted. “And then I summon Elemental Hero Bubbleman in defense mode!”

In a rush of light, the blue armored hero leapt into view, cape snapping behind him.

“I'll set a card and end my turn!”

“Ah, playing it safe, are we?” Andore called, sounding good-natured. “My turn—draw!”

Yusei glanced back at the Team Unicorn duelist, waiting for the storm. He could feel it coming—in a power deck like this, it was only natural to expect big punches, and very quickly.

But with Judai's soul pulsing the deck…

Yusei had to smile. There was no way he was going to lose. Not with Judai helping him.

“I activate the effect of Playful Possum—when it was destroyed by its own effect, I can special summon it during my Standby Phase!”

The possum reappeared as they bolted down the race circuit. Yusei should have known there was a second trick to using that move. Green Baboon was just the teaser.

“I activate the effect of a card in my hand, Behemoth the King of All Animals! It can be Normal summoned with only one tribute!”

The possum disappeared again, and it was replaced with—

This thing was huge—rabid. A deep magenta in color, thick matted purple hair ran from its head down its back. Its teeth were as long as Yusei's arms, and saliva dribbled down its fangs.

_Twenty-seven hundred attack points. That will do it._

“When Behemoth is summoned I can return a Beast-type monster from my Graveyard to my hand—so Playful Possum is coming back!”

Andore replaced the card, and then accelerated to draw level with Yusei again.

“Battle!” he shouted. “Behemoth attacks Bubbleman, and Baboon attacks Avian!”

Yusei swerved to avoid the exploding holograms, gritting his teeth. There went his wall.

It was okay. This should work. It _would_ work. Because it was the strategy that he and Judai had made—and there was no way that was crumbling any time soon.

Andore blinked, looking rather uncertain, strangely enough. Maybe it was because Yusei was still smiling after having lost all of his monsters.

“I end my turn,” Andore said.

Yusei gripped his handlebars.

Showtime.

He pushed his engine faster, faster, _faster._ He outstripped Andore in a matter of seconds.

“My turn! Draw!”

All right. Coming up on the moment of truth.

“I play Neo-Spacian Flare Scarab in defense mode—turn end!”

 _Let's do this, Judai_.

Yusei felt a weird rush through him, like excitement and euphoria all at once. Judai wasn't physically here, but he could _feel_ his friend's heartbeat through the cards. The cards that would let him win this with barely a scratch.

They zoomed past the bleachers again as Andore drew his next card. In slow motion, Yusei heard the command for Baboon to destroy Flare Scarab, and Behemoth to attack directly.

He caught Judai's eyes.

Judai grinned.

 _Let's take 'im out,_ his eyes were saying.

_Will do._

They zipped out of sight of the bleachers again and Behemoth's direct attack of 2700 hit. Yusei wobbled and skidded for a moment, the hologram feeling all too real for a split second. But he righted himself, and smacked at the activate trap button.

“Trap card open! Damage Interest!”

Yusei could see Andore's face whiten in his screen on the D-Wheel. He knew what it was and he had nothing to stop it.

“When I take battle damage from a direct attack, I inflict double that damage to my opponent!”

5400 attack points. Far more than the 3000 that Andore currently had, even more than the 4000 he would have started with.

One hit kill.

Andore's hand hovered for a moment over his trap cards, as though calculating. But just before the PA system blared out— _Team Unicorn's practice time is over—_ and the holograms vanished without taking the last hit, Yusei saw that hand drop away slightly.

Holographic interference aside, Yusei had won. And both of them knew it.

Yusei skidded to a stop back at the starting line.

“YUSEI!”

Lua practically launched himself over the railing to tackle hug Yusei getting of his motorcycle. Yusei stumbled under the weight.

“Whoa there,” he laughed. “Hang on.”

“That was so cool and you totally beat him and that wasn't even your deck and it didn't have speed spells and oh my gosh you really are amazing aren't you was that really the first time you had ever used Judai's deck you were so cool you didn't even flinch and—”

“I didn't technically win,” Yusei said, letting Lua down and ruffling his hair. “Game ended without a result.”

Jack snorted loudly, and Yusei knew what he had to say about that. Something along the lines of _“it doesn't freaking matter about that genius you had it in the bag and everyone knew it.”_

“Wow, Yusei-san,” Andore said, coming to a stop next to Yusei's D-Wheel. “That was impressive.”

“From you as well,” Yusei said, walking over to shake hands with the other man. Andore smiled—but there was a calculating edge to it, an excited, battle-hungry look. He wanted to see what Yusei could do with his real deck.

Yusei found himself smiling back at that veiled challenge.

Looked like both of them were excited about the battles ahead.

“We'll forget about the accident today,” Andore said. “I would hate to see you out of the tournament before we got to have a real match.”

“Likewise.”

Andore nodded respectfully. Then he turned back towards his fellows, wheeling his D-Wheel away. Yusei then turned back to the ball of enthusiasm that was Lua, who continued babbling and waving his arms around as the rest of the group made their way over.

“That was flipping amazing, Yusei!” Crow said, eyes bright. “You really never used that deck before? Holy shit!”

Jack nodded without even a snort. That was more than enough to indicate that he was very impressed.

Judai jogged over then, hands in his pockets. He grinned sheepishly.

“Sorry about the spell card thing. Didn't know that was a difference until Aki mentioned it. You pulled through great, though. You were great out there.”

Yusei grinned.

“ _We_ were great out there,” he said.

He handed Judai's deck back to him and Judai smiled as he switched back Yusei's deck.

“Yeah,” he said. His eyes were bright, brighter than usual. “I guess we were.”

**. . .**

The tiny figure of Luciano, one of three Emperors of Yliaster and youngest Director of the Public Maintenance Bureau, read the report with a growing scowl.

Placido glanced lazily over at his younger associate.

“What’s the matter? Not interesting enough for your infantile brain?”

Luciano kicked him under the table. Placido swore and almost moved to strike him back. But Jose sent the pair of them a glare, and Placido restrained himself.

Luciano huffed and smacked the report down on the table.

“This thing,” he said, “is annoying me for some reason.”

Jose glanced over, but Placido just huffed, leaning back in his chair and inspecting his nails instead.

He became more alert when Jose’s brow furrowed, and he reached out with a giant hand to turn the paper towards him again. There was silence for a few beats as he considered the messy writing of Ushio Tetsu.

“When did this happen?” he said. “And where?”

“Duel Lane 43; this morning,” Luciano said. “It’s bothering me. It’s weird. I don’t like it.”

“It’s bothering you because it’s the one we were instructed to consider in the Program,” Jose rumbled, his eyes narrowing.

“You’re not saying…” Placido started.

“Yes.”

“But he’s dead in this part of the time line. We made sure of that.”

“Did we? Or did we simply open the door for him to make another arrangement?”

Jose frowned for another moment at the report. Then he slid it back to the table.

“Tell your Ghosts to be on alert,” he said, directing this at Placido. “Due to his…interference…we have no idea where the loop hole is. Find out where he’s directing his attention, and more importantly, what he’s pointedly ignoring.”

“Fine,” Placido said, but it was clear he did not intend to argue. He stood up immediately and strode from the room. When he was gone, Luciano’s eyes slid back to Jose.

“Is the loop hole really that important?” he drawled. “Once the Circuit is complete, everything will be done.”

“Unless the loop hole is exploited first. We may already be trapped in the loop, Luciano. I intend to break us free of it…and wipe this horrid City from the face of the earth.”

He stood up with a snap, the whole floor shaking slightly with his weight. Then he, too, left the room, leaving Luciano alone.

Luciano glanced back down at the paper where Ushio Tetsu described being approached by a young man with pure black eyes.

“Huh,” he said. “So you’re so sore about dying that you do something like this? How lame.”

_Although…if it is him…he’ll probably be coming for this eventually._

Luciano patted his pocket where he kept that card. He liked to take cards from the people he finished off. Felt like a trophy. This one had been his favorite. Although it was a bit of a troublemaker, honestly.

Ha.

‘Honestly.’

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Helloooooo. This story is going in directions I did not intend; I hope you’re enjoying it so far because I have no idea what the hell is happening anymore. Hope it’s clearer for you guys. Let me know if you think I’m going off the deep end XD
> 
> Anyway I tried to work in plot and some Starshipping fluff~ Did I succeed? Is there too much plot and not enough shipping? I’m gonna try to fix that next chapter. Next chapter we take on Team Unicorn, but before that Judai and Yusei are gonna have some bonding over cards wheeee~ Also I might throw in some cameos of other GX characters soon so look forward to that!
> 
> Thank you so much to everyone following this project; I definitely did NOT expect as many followers and favorites as it’s gotten so far! You all rock. Thanks again, and I hope you continue to enjoy it!
> 
>  


	9. Monoceros

“What?? Crow did—”

Aki's mouth dropped open. Judai stiffened but he couldn't tell what was wrong; he couldn't hear what she was hearing on her cell phone. It was the evening before the WRGP, and Judai and Aki had been practicing with her psychic powers in the park, off to the side where no one would notice, and there wouldn't be as much chance of property damage. If Judai was going to be honest, that was mostly because of him. Aki had far more control over her powers than she thought she did; all the girl needed was some confidence from someone she considered an expert.

“Right…yes. Okay. Yes, we'll be there as soon as possible.”

She shut off her phone and shoved it into her pocket, deactivating her duel disk in the same motion. Judai noticed with just a little bit of pride how she released her real monsters so easily, with barely a prod of her mind. This girl was one hundred percent better at this than she believed she was. He just had to convince herself.

“What happened?” he asked, jogging over even as Aki beckoned and starting walking.

“Crow got into an accident. He fractured his shoulder.”

“ _What?_ But—but the WRGP is tomorrow!”

“I know…”

Aki bit her lip, looking scared. Judai felt compelled to reach out and squeeze her elbow. She smiled faintly at the reassurance, but he could tell she was still worried.

… _dammit_.

They had probably called off practice just in time, as it was starting to rain pretty hard by the time they reached Poppo Time Shop. Aki pushed through the door first, stopping on the front step to push the wet hair out of her eyes.

They were greeted with a shower of obscenities.

“Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, FUCK!”

A garbage can rolled across the floor.

Judai choked on a gasp.

For a moment, everything was black. He couldn't see anything, he couldn't breathe, he couldn't think—

And then it was over. He blinked, staring down into the room. Everything…looked fine? What had that been?

“Dammit, Crow, don't you dare break your foot too!” shouted Jack.

Crow stood by the couch, looking positively furious.

“How do you want me to feel, Jack?” Crow shouted back. “My shoulder's fucking broken! I can't duel in the tournament _at all!_ A whole month—a whole fucking month!”

“Raging about it isn't going to do us any good!”

“Guys, please,” Yusei said. “We need to calm down…we have to decide what we're going to do.”

Aki jogged down the stairs two at a time, Judai following closely behind.

“Crow?” Aki said. “What happened?”

Crow glared at her and then looked quickly away.

 _He's crying_ , Judai thought.

“Crow hit someone on the duel lane and went off his bike,” said Yusei. “His shoulder's fractured. He can't strain it dueling…it's going to be a month before it heals.”

“The tournament will be over by then!”

“Don't rub it in,” Crow muttered.

Judai frowned. He shuffled over to Crow.

“Can I check it over?” he asked.

Crow shrugged, and didn't move as Judai glanced over the wrapped shoulder, poking gently in several places.

Yusei and Jack continued to talk.

“What are we going to do now?” said Yusei. “Can we duel with just the two of us?”

“You'll only have eight thousand life points, then,” Bruno said. “It'll be quite a handicap.”

“Are you saying we should give up?” Jack said, slamming his fist on the table. “I won't accept that!”

“I'm not saying that. Of course not. We've come this far…”

Judai's eyes narrowed.

“Crow, you said you hit someone? Who?”

“Dunno. Couldn't find 'em,” Crow muttered. “Fucking hit and run.”

“Are you sure? You're absolutely sure you hit someone?”

“I'm fucking sure, okay!” Crow said, lashing out a little too harshly. “I wouldn't be in this fucking mess if not for—”

“Could you see their face? Or—”

“Just—stop it, Judai!”

Crow tried to shove past him, but Judai grabbed him by his good shoulder.

“…because you're trailing shadow magic everywhere.”

The whole room went silent.

Crow turned slowly to face Judai.

“What are you saying?” he said.

“I'm saying someone rigged it,” Judai said bluntly. “Someone _meant_ to get you hurt. And now you're practically covered in shadow magic—the nasty kind. It's getting everywhere in here.”

He glared at a particular lively shadow. No one else would be able to see it, but he crushed it under his foot anyway.

“You're saying that someone's trying to make sure Crow's not in the tournament?” said Jack. “Someone's using magic like yours to handicap us?”

“Could be,” Judai said, narrowing his eyes at the shadows pooling on the floor. They wriggled like worms—he was going to be hard at work removing these. If he left even one of them, they could turn nasty and sentient. What were they here for, anyway—

Why were they all pointing towards Yusei?

Judai growled a bit under his breath, snapping all the shadows to his own. He could hold them there for a little while, at least. Being the king of darkness had its perks.

Someone was trying to get to Yusei, he realized. Someone was using this weird, roundabout method to kill Yusei—why? Was this why Judai was here?

He turned towards Crow again, glancing at his shoulder again.

“I've taken care of the magic bit,” he said. “Your shoulder, though…that's going to be tougher.”

“What?” Crow said.

Judai frowned, considering, not really listening to Crow.

“Healing is _not_ my specialty,” he muttered. “I could actually make it worse if I do it too quickly.”

“Are you—you can heal?” Crow said, eyes widening.

“Sort of. I'm not good.”

He frowned again.

“The best I can do without disfiguring you by accident is to speed up the healing process,” he said. “You'll be able to be in the tournament, but it will be a couple of days, or a week at least.”

Crow looked like he was going to cry.

He threw his good arm around Judai then, and Judai flinched. He realized it was just a hug after a beat of panic.

“Um…Crow, I'm glad you're happy, but I'm not really a hugger…”

“Oh, sorry, I…wow. I'm just…uh.”

He drew away quickly, wiping his hand on his pants. He looked overwhelmed.

“You guys just have to win a couple matches and then I can be in again,” Crow said.

Yusei shook his head, looking a bit overwhelmed. He stared down at the table for a moment.

“Jack…do you think we can make it with two people for a first few matches…?”

“You won't have to.”

Everyone looked up.

Aki was standing there, fists at her sides, looking determined. She stepped forward, putting a hand over her heart.

“I can take Crow's place until he's better,” she said. “It's—I'm a member of 5D's too. It's the least I can do.”

A smile broke over Yusei's face. Jack just snorted.

“Do you really think you can do it?” he said, leaning over the table. “You haven't been driving for long. And there's no autopilot on this.”

“I can,” Aki said, eyes hard and focused.

Judai had to grin.

Yeah, he thought. She was a tough one, really.

He turned his eyes down to his shadow, where he had imprisoned the shadow magic.

Still, it left one major question…one end that hadn't yet been tied.

Who sent that magic? And why?

. . .

The World Racing Grand Prix started with a fanfare of jets leaving contrails, fireworks exploding in the sky, and people shouting and crying their appreciation and excitement.

Everyone except Judai.

“Ugh! Again with the flipping fireworks.”

He had been startled awake for the fourth time this morning.

“Uuuuughh.”

He moaned again, throwing his arm over his head.

He hadn't slept a wink last night. The nightmares been worse than ever—a terrible mixture of flashbacks to Dark World, potential disasters that he worried might happen in the future, and the same repeating vision of the dark presence that he was for some reason asking for help from. But besides those, he had kept himself awake for hours on the computer, using his not-too-shabby hacking skills to get some insight on who the hell Lua and Luka's parents were. He thought it might be the best place to start on the mystery of everything, since he didn't know how to track this shadow magic down. Maybe if he found one piece to his mystery, the rest would fall into place?

“You would think,” he had muttered to Yubel, “that someone affluent enough to own an apartment like that would have been written about in some kind of newspaper.”

Yubel hadn't had anything to say about that so Judai had been left talking to himself like a crazy person. As though he needed more proof of that.

He sighed, bringing himself back to the present as he leaned down to rest his elbows on his knees. Well, maybe the backstage of the riding circuit wasn't the place for a nap anyway.

The door burst open to admit the way-too-excited-for-this-early-in-the-morning Lua.

“Oh my gosh, oh my gosh, oh my gosh!” he said, running in circles. “I can't believe this is gonna happen!! The WRGP is starting and I'm a member of one of the teams! I can't believe this!”

“You're just pit crew, Lua,” Luka said, glowering at him. She, too, looked a little irritated by his excitement for this time of day.

“But pit crew is super important!” said Crow, clomping in with his arm still in a sling. “Oy, Judai. Sleeping well?”

“Shove it, Crow.”

Crow just snickered. He was in a fantastic mood despite not getting to ride today. He had told Judai that he already felt loads better with Judai's remedy—Judai didn't really have the heart to tell Crow that it had been made up of his own blood in a smoothie. It would do the job of repairing Crow's bone much faster, since Judai himself healed incredibly quickly. But he still didn't want to tell Crow how it was made. Might be a funny expression on his face, though.

“Yusei wanted me to ask if you wanted to walk out there with us,” he said. “We're getting ready to take on Team Unicorn.”

“Me?” Judai said, blinking. “But I'm not a part of the team…”

Crow chuckled, throwing something at him. Judai snagged it out of the air and turned it over, confused.

“This is a Team 5D's jacket,” he said.

“Yeah. You are part of the team, yeah?”

“But I don't know a damn thing about D-Wheels.”

“It's okay. Neither does Lua.”

“Heeey!” Lua said, pouting. “I know a bunch about D-Wheels!”

Crow just chuckled and ruffled the boy's hair.

“Well, Yusei was pretty adamant about it. Something about the teamwork from the duel against Andore the first time. He really wants you on the team—think of it as being our dueling adviser or something. I mean, you _are_ hella good. And after all, you've done a pretty good job of getting us out of trouble. With Team Unicorn, and the shadow magic, and my shoulder?”

Crow frowned then.

“Hey…you don't think Team Unicorn did that magic thingy, do you?”

Judai hesitated, considering it.

“Nah,” he said. “Magic like that leaves marks. I would have noticed it right away if they had used something like that. They might do weird tricks beforehand, but they're not ones to hurt people. At least, I don't think so.”

He looked down at the jacket in his hands.

“Crow, are you really sure you…”

“Oh, shut up and put the damn thing on!” Crow said, slapping Judai's shoulder with his good arm. “You're part of the team now, whether you like it or not!

Judai blinked. Then he grinned.

“All right, then,” he said, slipping off his Osiris red jacket and pulling the other jacket on. “Come on then, Team 5D's. Let's kick some unicorn butt.”

“Yeah!” Lua said, punching the air.

They slipped out into the wide hallway, where the D-Wheels were waiting before they were brought out to the pit. Yusei was turning the handles on his, revving the engine a few times while Bruno checked over some screen plugged into the motorcycle. He glanced up as Judai and the others approached. A smile grew on his lips.

“Looks good on you,” he said.

“Hehe, thanks,” Judai said, rubbing the back of his neck. “So…Team Unicorn, right?”

“Yeah. Did you happen to get anything interesting from watching Andore duel yesterday?”

“Hmm…”

He considered. It was obvious that that hadn't been his normal dueling deck, but he had still used it with quite a bit of finesse.

“He's really good…better than he appeared yesterday,” said Judai finally. “The way he dueled—it's obvious he's not a one-trick pony. He'll have multiple strategies to a deck.”

“I still say we should just punch through,” Jack announced from a few feet away, where he was testing Wheel of Fortune. “He was using a power deck. He'll probably use a similar one, right?”

“Not likely…” Judai said. “That could have been a bait to throw you out in front of him. They know that you're the team's powerhouse, right?”

Jack puffed up a tiny bit at being called a powerhouse, but he still paused to consider this.

“We might still start with you, Jack,” Yusei said. “But we need to do a quick check of your deck's strategy. I think I might have a few ideas…Judai, would you help?”

“Not a problem.”

They left Bruno and Crow to run the last checks on the D-Wheels, stepping off to the side to have a look at Jack and Yusei's decks. Aki jogged over to join in too.

“Nah, switch those two,” Judai said. “If he assumes that you're just going to go for a full power deck—and he probably is, I really do think that was a bait to make them start with you, make them think they'll have an easy first round—then that'll throw him majorly off balance.”

“Are you sure?” Jack said, frowning at the card that Judai had indicated.

“Positive. Besides, that'll have a lot of synergy with Yusei. Oh and…Jack, what's your rationale for this pair…?”

They chatted a few more moments, making last minute changes.

“Team 5D's! You're up for introduction!”

The group of boys looked at each other. They nodded.

“Team 5D's,” Yusei said, putting his hand into the middle.

Judai grinned, and he and the other two put their hands on top of Yusei's.

“Let's knock 'em dead,” Judai said.

“I'll take care of all three of them. None of you will have to do anything,” Jack said, huffing.

“Good luck, everyone,” said Aki.

Yusei just nodded. Then they all broke apart, and the three boys headed for their D-Wheels, Judai stepping back with Crow, the twins, and Bruno.

“Our first team today is the winner of the Atlantic Cup, Team Unicorn: Breo, Andore, and Jan!!”

The announcer's voice echoed through the stadium, a bass-like sound that reverberated through Judai's stomach.

“Ugh,” he said. “Gonna have to get used to that.”

“And then, we have Team 5D's! Made up of Fortune Cup champion Fudo Yusei, former King Jack Atlas, and psychic duelist Izayoi Aki!”

Judai blinked at the bright light outside as the team exited, raising his hand to block it.

For a moment, he almost panicked—so many people, there were too many people, oh shit, oh shit, oh shit—

A hand gripped his arm. Judai startled out of the momentary panic.

“Yusei?” he said.

Yusei glanced at him. He smiled slightly.

“It's okay,” he said. “Breathe.”

Judai smiled back, feeling a little shaky still.

“Good luck,” he whispered.

“Thank you,” Yusei said back.

Wow, their faces were really close, Judai realized. And wow he was having a hard time not staring at Yusei's lips.

They hesitated a moment longer. Then Yusei squeezed his arm one more time and stepped back.

“If anything gets too much for you, please don't feel bad about taking a break,” he said. “I know how you feel about crowds.”

“Nah,” Judai said. “Can't miss this. After all, I'm technically fighting with you in this one, right?”

Yusei smiled and nodded, patting his deck.

“Thank you, again.”

Judai sent him a thumb's up.

“It's just like the duel against Paradox—except you've got more life points and you're also riding around in circles.”

Yusei laughed.

“We'll win,” he said.

“I know you will.”

They smiled at each other. Then Yusei jogged towards the starting line, where Jack was getting set up.

He would go first. The plan was simple—try and take out Andore before he took out Jack. Right now, Andore had the advantage. He knew that Jack was a power deck user, and would plan accordingly. The deck he had used yesterday was almost certainly not his real deck. But in that respect, they had their own advantage.

It wasn't just that they knew that Team Unicorn had been playing them from the beginning. It wasn't just that they were far better at working in a team than Team Unicorn suspected.

It was the fact that they knew to be prepared for anything.

Judai grinned up towards the sky. Despite everything, maybe today was going to be a good day—

His eyes seemed to move by themselves. They dropped towards the stands on the other side, staring over at the doorway where the fans had entered the bleachers. Was there someone standing there? Watching him?

A weird chill ran down his spine. He squinted.

Then he shifted his eyes into Yubel's and—

He gasped as his entire vision went black again, just like it had in the room where Crow was leaking shadow magic everywhere. He swore, dropping Yubel's vision so that he could see again.

“What was that?” he hissed.

— _I don't…I don't know—_

Yubel actually seemed shaken.

Judai glanced up again. That person was gone.

Again, he felt a chill run down his spine.

You know, the more he thought about it…

The more familiar that shadow had looked…

. . .

Yusei shot to his feet, heart hammering. That—that was something they hadn't accounted for.

“Overboost system?” he whispered.

Andore had turned on the overboost system on his bike, sending him exploding past Jack. The crowd was going wild already.

“Shit,” Bruno said, typing furiously. “If he gets the jump on Jack, we might have a serious disadvantage.”

“It's okay, Jack knows what he's doing,” Yusei said.

But did he? He hoped so. Of the team, Jack was sometimes the hardest to keep in alignment with the plan.

_I hope he doesn't do anything stupid…_

He grabbed the mic connected to Jack's helmet.

“Let him take the turn, Jack. We can still work with this. Don't be reckless.”

“ _Hmph,”_ Jack huffed. _“I knew that much, Yusei. Don't micromanage me.”_

Andore took the first curve. The players drew their hands and the life point counter flickered to life on the screen above the stadium.

_Please stick to the plan, Jack…_

“My first turn! I summon the Tuner monster Unicorn Familiar!” Andore shouted. “Then I remove one spell card from play to special summon Monoceros!”

“Synchro summon off the bat, huh?” Yusei said.

What kind of deck was he playing? This wouldn't be the power deck they saw before—or would it?

“I set two cards face down and end my turn!”

“What's his game?” Bruno muttered.

“He's trying to bait Jack!” Lua said, clenching his fists.

“Knowing Jack, it will work too,” said Yusei.

Jack zipped forward on the Wheel of Fortune—yes, sure enough, he was grinning.

 _This isn't going to be easy, Jack,_ Yusei thought. _Dammit, use your head for once._

Hopefully, at the very least, he would stick to the plan…

He touched his deck at his side with one finger, to calm himself. He almost thought…that he could feel a heartbeat there. Well, he wouldn't be surprised. After all, the monster hidden there was no ordinary one…he really wondered if this was okay. Judai had reassured him that it was fine, that using it was well suited to this type of team duel anyway, and that he had already asked and gotten permission, but still.

He half smiled.

 _You made one fatal flaw, Team Unicorn,_ he thought. _You thought you were only fighting three people. But you're actually fighting all of us._

“My turn!” Jack shouted. “I special summon Vice Dragon, since only you have monsters! It's attack and defense are halved by this effect!”

He was already drawing his next card from his hand as the dragon sparkled to life.

“Next, I summon Dark Resonator! I tune Vice Dragon with Dark Resonator!”

“Here it comes,” Luka muttered, pulling on her headset and sliding into a seat beside Lua.

“The king's heartbeat will make a line here! Bear witness to its shaking power!”

Yusei heard Judai draw in a soft breath. He glanced over at his friend, who was standing behind Crow's seat, eyes fixed on the duel.

“Anything wrong?” Yusei asked.

“Nah,” Judai said. “Just…Synchro summoning. It has…a really nice feel to it. A rhythm.”

He half smiled.

“Sorry. Sounds dumb.”

Yusei smiled back.

“It's not dumb,” he said. “It sounds…beautiful. I wish I could see half the things you see.”

Judai chuckled softly, but did not respond. Yusei turned himself back to face the duel. Red Dragon Archfiend was pulling itself onto the field.

“Hopefully Jack has drawn that card,” Yusei said, leaning down. “Bruno, can you check his hand?”

“Will do.”

Bruno's fingers flew, but Jack was already going onto the offense.

“I'll attack with Red Dragon Archfiend, and by its effect, all defense position monsters will be destroyed! Go, my soul! Absolute Power Force!”

Andore smirked on the screen.

“That was a trap and we fell for it,” Yusei said.

“But I confirmed, Jack drew the card,” Bruno said. “If he survives this—”

“He will,” Judai said. “He definitely will.”

“I activate Unicorn Familiar's effect! I can remove it from play when its attacked by removing another monster from play!”

Monoceros and Unicorn Familiar disappeared from the field.

“Jack, stop your attack!” Luka cried into the headset.

Jack was already shouting to Archfiend to halt the attack—but it wasn't enough.

“By Unicorn Familiar's effect, you can't stop your attack!” Andore said. “Trap open! Different Dimension Barrier!”

“ _Fuck!”_

Jack's voice rang out over the headsets as the attack was reflected right back at him. He swerved and skidded around the falling meteors of Archfiend's attack, life points dropping to 1000.

“Shit!” Crow said. “They were really fucking ready for Jack's deck!”

“It's fine,” Yusei said, through gritted teeth. Was it, though? “Jack can still make it. We need to try and stick to the plan.”

Luka was babbling into her headset, things like “are you okay, Jack”, “Jack stay calm, it will be okay, we can handle this”, “remember we're all supporting you!”

“ _For god's sake, Luka, you're the one that needs to calm down!”_ Jack shouted back into his helmet. _“I'm fine. A little something like this isn't enough to shake me.”_

He huffed into his microphone.

“ _Yusei. Is the plan still going to work like this?”_

“I hope so,” Yusei said into his own microphone. “As long as you can halve his life points, we'll be fine. And make sure you get that card down and protected.”

“ _Hmph. As though I couldn't handle something like that.”_

He gritted his teeth and leaned forward.

“I'll set four cards and end my turn!”

Andore's turn, now.

“Unicorn's Familiar returns to the field now!”

The grotesque goblin reappeared on the field, hissing.

“That doesn't look like a real unicorn,” Luka mumbled, sounding a little bit angry.

Jack actually laughed on the other side of the microphone.

“ _Want me to slay it for you, Luka?”_

Crow snorted.

“Cracking jokes at a time like this, Jack?”

“ _What? I thought this was supposed to be a duel. Duels are supposed to be enjoyable, aren't they?”_

“You're really something else, you know that?” Crow said, chuckling.

Yusei glanced over at Team Unicorn. They didn't seem worried at all—this was all perfectly calculated, wasn't it? His eyes moved back to Judai. He was frowning at the screen.

“Something wrong?” Yusei asked.

Judai eyes lifted, but to the track, not to Yusei's eyes.

“…no,” he said. “Not right now, anyway.”

He frowned, though, and Yusei did not miss the way that his eyes glanced up at the stands, scanning the people there.

“And next, I'll special summon Different Dimension Unicorn Knight by bringing back Monoceros! Come out, both of you!”

The heavy set unicorn was quickly joined by an armored knight.

“Here comes the Synchro summon,” Yusei muttered.

“I tune Monoceros and Unicorn Familiar! Synchro Summon! Thunder Unicorn!”

Judai drew in another breath as the creature descended—a sleek blue unicorn with a horn the shape of a lightning bolt.

“Thunder Unicorn's effect can reduce your monster's attack by five hundred for every monster on my field!”

“That will only make it twenty-five hundred!” Jack shouted. “Not enough to defeat my Archfiend!”

Andore smirked.

“Dammit,” Yusei muttered.

“Monoceros' effect from the Graveyard! I can revive the Tuner Monster used for the Synchro Summon!”

The Unicorn's Familiar returned, screeching. Luka moaned, hugging herself.

“I don't like that thing,” she said.

“Now with both of my monsters, I can take Archfiend down to 2000 attack points!”

Andore skidded around so that he was riding backwards. He thrust his hand forward in command.

“Thunder Unicorn! Destroy the weakened Archfiend!!”

The Unicorn whinnied and shot forward. With the loss of a thousand life points, Archfiend was no match for the unicorn, and its horn slashed right across its chest, causing the dragon to explode and disappear from the field. Jack cried out, almost spinning.

That was when Judai flashed forward, hands on the dash board, eyes wide.

“Bruno, what's that?” he said, pointing.

The screen was flashing, a red spot on Jack's D-Wheel program. Bruno accessed the program.

“Shit,” he swore. “There's something wrong with the air intake.”

“That's not just anything,” Judai said, glancing up. “Fuck. I missed one.”

“One—oh! You mean the shadow magic?” Crow said, leaping up.

“Bring Jack in, right now!” Judai said. _“Right now!”_

“I'll set a card and end my turn!” Andore shouted.

The crowd's roar was almost too much to hear over. Yusei couldn't even hear over his own heartbeat. Dammit!

“Lua, now, call a pit stop now,” Yusei said. “Luka, explain to Jack what's happening.”

Lua rushed to the fence, throwing the pit stop sign up.

Jack zoomed right past—hadn't he seen it?

“Jack, we need you to come back—Jack!” Luka shouted into her headset. “Jack, listen, can you hear me? There's shadow magic in your D-Wheel, you need to come for a pit stop!”

“Why isn't he stopping?” Crow said, slamming his fist into the table. “Why isn't he stopping?”

“My headset isn't receiving!” Luka said, looking on the verge of tears. “What's going on? I'm only getting static.”

Judai swore, running to the fence and gripping it. Yusei couldn't move.

Jack. Jack.

_Jack._

. . .

Carly Nagisa was already in a bad mood, so she didn't notice it as early as she perhaps ought to have had. She had no idea how she had managed to get sandwiched between Mikage-san and Stephanie-san, but listening to them get overly excited over Jack was always annoying. That was Carly's job! And they were always mad at her for some reason. Oooh, it was bad enough that Jack hadn't been talking to her as much lately! If only she could remember why he had started avoiding her about six months ago. Then maybe she could fix whatever she had done wrong and—

Oh, man, and Jack was getting beaten pretty badly today, too! This wasn't right! Or fair!

“Moouuu,” she moaned.

It was only then that she started to realize the weird sick feeling in her stomach.

She had just thought it was gas. Or maybe irritation. Being around Mikage and Stephanie could do that to her a lot.

But no, this was more…clinging. Like there was something slimy in her stomach that clung to the sides, making her feel gross. She shuddered—did it just get colder? And she felt a little dizzy…maybe she needed to get out of the crowd for a few seconds. It was clear by the bleacher doors. She could go there for a breather.

“Mikage, I need to get out for a second.”

“Now?? But Jack is—”

“I'm still watching! I just…move before I throw up all over you!”

Mikage sighed, but shifted enough so that Carly could sneak past her and stumble out into the aisle. She trotted up towards the top. She tripped, however, on the last step and squeaked as she tumbled face first into the ground.

Her glasses tumbled off of her face.

She froze.

Oh no. Oh no no no no, not again.

Immediately it started. She gasped, clapping her hands over her eyes as all the colors and shapes started to get stronger and brighter. Oh, no, she could see it again, she didn't want to see it, all the weird colors that clung to people's shadows and frames, the way that when she stared at a person too long she could somehow just tell things about them like some kind of weird freak—and she especially didn't want to see the shadows that crept and slid along ground, wrapping around people's ankles and just seemingly invisible to everyone—

They would be invisible to her, too, if she could just find her glasses!!

She fumbled along the ground with one hand still over her eyes.

“Glasses, glasses, glasses—”

“Here.”

She felt something being pressed into her hand—her glasses!

“Oh, goodness, thank you,” she said, fumbling to put them on one handed so she wouldn't have to take her hand off of her eyes.

But it was too much work, so she just tried to do it as quickly as possible and—

She felt like she was going to throw up.

The man in front of her was caked in those slithery shadow things.

She stared at him, mouth hanging open, voice gone.

“I…uh…you…”

The man blinked. Considering her. His eyes…oh god, his eyes. They were fully black, like the shadows that clung to his arms like snakes draped over him. He actually started to pet one, almost absently, his dull green hair shifting in its ponytail as he moved so that it fell over his back instead of his shoulder.

“Is something wrong?”

Carly couldn't talk. She was still on the ground, so he looked a whole lot taller and—oh wow, he was really, really scary, even without all of the shadows around him.

“You…I…shadows,” she mumbled.

The man blinked again.

“Ah,” he said. “You can see them, can't you?”

Carly nodded mutely.

He knelt down then, coming face to face with her. Too close—she didn't want to be that close to those eyes!

She squeaked and stumbled back, scrambling to her feet and trying to put her glasses back on. But he put a hand on her wrist, stopping her. Cocking his head.

“Why do you hide behind those? You do not need them, do you? Your eyes are fine.”

“I—I don't want to see,” she whispered. “I don't want to see those—things.”

The man blinked. As though he didn't understand.

“Hm,” he said. “Fair enough.”

He released her wrist. She almost dropped her glasses as she moved to put them back on—but before she did, she noticed something.

“You don't have a color,” she whispered.

“Hmmm?”

“Everyone has a color…you don't have one.”

Every time her glasses had slipped, she had seen people. People coated with colors, like they were wearing sheer cloaks or surrounded by a colored mist. She had been able to…know things, based on those colors, and it—it was scary.

But she realized that it was even scarier to see someone without one of those colors at all.

She couldn't read him. Couldn't know things about him, about who—or what—he was.

“Hmmm. I suppose I wouldn't. Not anymore.”

He glanced down at the palm of his hand for a moment.

“You should go,” he said. “The shadows are no place for someone like you.”

“I…okay, I…”

She stopped. The shadows were moving slowly down the stairs, like a thick, black waterfall.

“…where are they going?” she whispered.

The man just watched them. Quietly. Carly's eyes followed their slow, thick trail, glasses held half to her face. She could just…put her glasses on. Go back to pretending they weren't there.

She realized where they were headed, then.

“Why are they going down into the dueling lane?” she asked. “Why are they—why are they all pointed towards—”

Jack. They were pointed towards Jack. She didn't know how she knew, but she did, and—

She turned to face the man, her glasses forgotten for now.

“Why are you trying to hurt Jack?”

“Hm? How do you know I'm hurting him?”

“Because that's what that kind of shadow does. It hurts people.”

“Fascinating. You can differentiate the shadows?”

“Y-yes.”

“Hmmm. A rare talent. Even for a seer like you.”

“A…a what?”

The man advanced on her then, suddenly, quickly. Carly yelped and scrambled back. She found herself pressed against the wall beside the opening out of the stands before she realized it, the man's hand's braced on the wall beside her head. He was too close again!

Slowly, he reached for her wrist. He pulled it up to examine it for a moment. Carly was so scared; she couldn't even breathe. He seemed quite interested in the base of her pinkie, drawing it up so that he could examine it closely. His eyes dropped, as though following some imaginary string from her pinkie and down the stairs.

“Ah,” he said. “I see now.”

He let her wrist drop before considering her for a moment longer.

“You used to hold the darkness, too, didn't you?” he said.

“W-what?”

“Ah. You don't remember. Understandable. Few do, once they've had it pulled out of them so forcibly.”

He stepped back, letting her breathe again.

“I am sorry.”

“F-for what?” she mumbled, still dazed from having been so close to that terrifying man.

“For what I'm about to do.”

An explosion echoed across the stands. A few people screamed, and some jumped up with horror on their faces. Carly blinked—she couldn't see past all the colors!

She fumbled for her glasses, slipping them on. Her hands slid over her mouth and she felt the blood ran from her face.

“Jack,” she whispered. “JACK!”

He was spinning out—something on his D-Wheel was smoking and burning and she thought she could smell the smoke from here—

“JACK!”

She bolted down the stairs even as Jack's D-Wheel crashed and let out another explosion against the side of the stands.

As she ran, she thought she could hear that man speaking again.

“I am truly sorry…the pain of a severed red tie of fate is indeed nothing I would wish upon you willingly…”

. . .

Judai leapt the fence.

“Stick to your plan!” he shouted over his shoulder at Yusei. “I'm going to track the bastard that did this!”

Suddenly, winning this match felt much more important than it had before.

Jack was face down in the ground, obviously injured—but alive. Thanks in part to Judai sending out a cushion of shadow to block that almost certainly fatal strike to his neck.

Someone was trying to kill Jack Atlas, and Judai had a feeling he had caught a glimpse of the bastard who had done it.

Why? He thought, as he vaulted the wall between the track and the stands, ignoring how much attention he would draw with that level of athleticism. Most people were distracted with Jack's desperate attempt to push his D-Wheel back to the start, so only a handful noticed him hit the ground and roll on the other side.

He bolted for the stairs, passing a shouting girl with black hair and an orange vest as he skipped up two at a time.

Why? Why? Why would someone trying to hurt Team 5D's like this? Were they trying to hurt Yusei again? But why this roundabout way?

“Oy! _Oy!_ Don't you dare move!”

He had seen the shadowy figure turning back into the dark hallway, trying to fade from sight. With an angry cry, Judai launched himself forward, grabbing his shoulder, whipping the man around to see—

He felt as though he had just been punched in the gut—and then he actually _was_ punched in the gut.

His opponent threw him against the wall with ease. Judai gasped—it wasn't often that someone matched him in physical strength, and he was momentarily caught off guard.

Yubel wasn't though.

She surged up within him, pushing his muscles to lift himself back to his feet. He launched himself forward. His fist connected with his opponent's jaw, sending the man stumbling back. Judai drew back for a second strike but his opponent was already ready for him. They stepped in and around the next strike with an inhuman speed, elbow surging for Judai's head.

Judai called the shadows up around the man's feet, tripping him up.

He gasped as he realized his opponent had had the same plan, and he, too dropped to his knees.

But he was a little faster on the draw with the shadows, and managed to send them in wave at his opponent, sending him tumbling back to the ground.

Judai didn't hesitate, launching himself up and on top of him.

“Fujiwara!” he shouted. “Fujiwara Yusuke—what the hell are you doing?”

He choked on his own words.

Fujiwara—because it definitely was Fujiwara Yusuke, the young man that he had fought against during the war of Darkness—had eyes that were full black.

Fujiwara tried to surged upwards at Judai's surprise, but Judai wasn't usually one to drop his guard that much. He grabbed Fujiwara's wrists and slammed them into the ground, pinning him down.

“Stop it, Fujiwara! What are you doing?”

Fujiwara struggled for a moment. But then he simply went still, as though resigned. He blinked at Judai.

There was nothing about him that Judai fully recognized. The face was similar—older, of course, he looked to be in his thirties or forties now. His hair was much sleeker than it had once been, pulled back into a short ponytail. And of course, the eyes. The strange, fully black eyes that sent a shudder down Judai's spine. His face was so impassive—even the Fujiwara that had been taken in by Darkness had not been so blank-faced and unreadable.

“Hello, Yuki Judai,” Fujiwara said. “You really haven't aged a day.”

“Hey yourself,” Judai said, tightening his grip. “What are you doing?”

“Killing Jack Atlas.”

He said it so bluntly that Judai almost flinched.

“Why?”

“Because it has to be done.”

“Don't give me that, Fujiwara. Talk to me. Why are you doing this? Who's putting you up to this? And—what's happened to you?”

Fujiwara blinked. He cocked his head slightly.

“Forgive me,” he said. Almost as though he were still thinking about it. “I am only half myself right now.”

“What happened to you? Are you taken in by Darkness again? Has Darkness come back?”

“Mmm. Could be. Can't quite remember.”

“Don't screw with me, Fujiwara!”

“I'm not. Have I ever been the type to be dishonest?”

Judai's chest clenched. There was something about the way he said it…

“…where's Honest?”

Although Fujiwara's eyes were black, unreadable, Judai thought he saw something spark there.

Anger.

He cried out as Fujiwara's shadows surged upwards. Judai tumbled back to the ground, thrown against the wall.

Fujiwara stood in front of him, the shadows swirling around him like a living cloak. They skittered and melded together, forming a long, thick, very sharp point that came up to Judai's neck.

Judai froze as the point slowly forced him to lift his chin up.

“I could end it,” Fujiwara said. “End what you started. Right here.”

“I don't know what you're talking about.”

“I understand what your feelings must have been—but did you really have to get them involved?”

“Fujiwara, please, whatever is going on, we can work through this—we were allies, once, weren't we?”

“We were,” Fujiwara said, considering him. “But that's the past tense, isn't it?”

Judai dove to the side. The point moved harmlessly into the wall as he rolled, coming to his feet.

“I don't have time for you, right now,” Fujiwara said. “I see you have preserved Jack Atlas. I had hoped you would miss that shadow this time.”

“What are you talking about? Fujiwara!”

But Fujiwara was already literally melting into the shadows.

“Goodbye, Judai. This time, I hope you know, I will close that loop.”

He paused for a moment.

“Oh. And are you positive you got rid of _all_ my shadows?”

And then he was gone.

Judai was standing alone in an empty hallway.

Behind him, he heard the echo of the crowd, roaring with approval. Judai's hands rolled up into fists.

Phase two of the plan, of course…Aki must have brought out Stardust Dragon by now.

He stared into the shadows for one more long moment.

And that was when it sank in.

“Shit!” he said, whipping around and bolting back down the stairs. “Jack!”

. . .

Carly was the first one to reach Jack's hospital room, heart hammering.

He was already in a hospital bed, breathing hard, two doctors hooking him up to various instruments and exchanging data with each other.

Mikage was right on her heels and Stephanie not far behind.

“Jack!”

She dropped to the ground beside the bed, ignoring the doctors telling her to get out of the way. Her heart was racing, and she felt sick and dizzy again. Something was wrong, something was very, very wrong. Something that man had did—what had he done with the shadows? Had he really just blown up the air intake in the hopes that it would kill Jack on impact?

And why? Why did he want to kill Jack??

She sobbed, grabbing his hand. It felt cold and—vaguely slimy.

The shadows.

She choked on her air. He wasn't breathing right. It was like he was breathing through a choked air valve, like something was wrapped around his throat.

“Carly, get out of the way! You're distracting the doctors!” Mikage said.

Carly didn't want to but— _Jack!_

She fumbled for her glasses, knocking them off to the ground in her haste instead of just taking them off.

She choked.

There were shadows everywhere. They clung to Jack, obscuring his normal warm red glow. Several wrapped around his neck, and a few were even sliding down his throat.

Nothing the doctors did could stop this from killing him.

“Get off him!” she screamed, hysteric and terrified. “Leave him alone!”

She grabbed at the shadows, but they only slipped through her fingers and continued their work, sliding into Jack's throat, trying to kill him slowly. Carly screamed again, batting at the slimy things.

“Carly!”

“What are you _doing_?”

Mikage grabbed at her arm, trying to yank her back as the doctors started to yell again.

“It's killing him, I have to stop it!” she said, yanking free. “You can't see them??”

She grabbed at them again, trying to pull them off of Jack's perfect, pure, warm red aura—

Wait—the aura! If it was strong enough, maybe it could push the shadows back, like a light gets rid of darkness?

Her brain didn't make any sense to her right now but staring at that red aura had made her mind start to work in those weird ways again, knowing things that she shouldn't without any explanation. She dropped to her knees again, gripping his hand.

“We're losing him!” a doctor shouted. “His heartbeat is going down—we need a defibrillator!”

“His breathing is irregular, something might be choking him—we going to need a mask here right now, he needs oxygen!”

“Carly, get away!” Stephanie said, pulling at her shoulders. “They're trying to help him!”

Carly was already focusing too hard to notice. She felt her hands almost literally melt into Jack's aura, locked into place.

“Come on, come on, fight it, Jack,” she whispered. “You're so strong. You're so strong. You can make this.”

She felt her heart beat changing. She was synchronizing with Jack's, she realized.

_Match my heartbeat, Jack, match my heartbeat. Fight the shadows._

Jack stirred. He coughed once, sending up a spray of slimy shadows. His aura flared desperately.

Don't think about the shadows. Think about the aura. Strengthen the aura.

She pushed harder, forcing her own color into Jack's somehow—hers was a deep purple, and it mixed together with Jack's—somehow making his color a deeper red rather than changing the color entirely.

“Carly!” Mikage shouted.

Carly let out a gasp.

Jack's aura exploded.

Carly screamed, wanting to throw her hands over her eyes but was unable to release Jack's hand. She was attached, she was too closely attached to Jack's aura, she couldn't break free and—

Her connection snapped.

She gasped as she fell backwards onto the ground. Her head spun and her throat was dry…but the weird, sickly feeling was gone.

“He's—I don't believe it, he's stable again. Hold that defibrillator, he's back. He's back. He's—completely stable, actually.”

She could hear his breaths coming softly and gently. Regular and alive and beautiful. She sighed, closing her eyes against the colors of Mikage and Stephanie were leaning over her, looking worried.

She opened her eyes again when she heard footsteps clattering down the hall, heard someone's shoes squeak to a stop at the door. There was a young man at the door, eyes wide and mouth panting, his thick brown hair plastered to his face and his face blanched.

“Hold on, I have to get rid of the—”

He stopped. He blinked.

“…shadows?”

The boy pushed through the door, looking dumbfounded.

Carly gasped from her place on the floor.

His aura—it was… _gold_. The purest, deepest, most powerful color she had ever seen in her life. This boy was…

She struggled to her knees, ignoring Mikage who was trying to help her up, eyes fixed on the boy.

“Who are you?” she whispered.

He met her eyes, blinking. And he frowned, looking confused.

“And you are…”

His eyes dropped to the ground and narrowed. Carly glanced over and—oh, god, no, not another shadow!

She jumped to her feet, pointing with her mouth going dry.

“We have to stop it from—”

The boy stepped on it. He ground his foot into the floor a few times, and then, when he lifted it up, the shadow was gone.

He glanced up at her.

“You could see it?” he said.

“Y-yeah,” she said.

“What happened to the ones attacking Jack?”

“I, uh…I made his aura get bright enough…to kill them…”

The boy nodded slowly. He looked…impressed.

“Well then,” he said, smiling with a tired relief. “I'm Yuki Judai. What can I call you?”

Carly swallowed.

“Carly,” she said. “Nagisa Carly.”

Judai grinned, although he still looked like he was mostly just giddy with relief.

“Well, Nagisa-san,” he said. “I believe you might have just saved Jack Atlas' life.”

This was all a little too much at once, wasn't it?

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A WILD SCOOPSHIPPING APPEARED
> 
> I am so sorry I literally could not help myself. Carly wasn't even supposed to be in this story. She just…kinda happened. Oops. Sorry not sorry (she's my fave I should have guessed she'd make herself important somehow. And tbh Scoopshipping is my major OTP in 5D's, I should have guessed it would rear its head in some form or another…). Also Kaibae I'm sorry I promised Judai in a Riding Suit this chapter and it didn't happen—next chapter I promise!!  
>  


	10. Cepheus

He could not focus. Dammit, he had to focus. This was no time to—

But his brain kept replaying that explosion, Jack’s cry as he was flung from his D-Wheel and smashed into the ground. Kept replaying Judai swearing and leaping up into the stands after whoever had attacked them—whoever had tried to _kill Jack_ —and then rushing _back_ towards the hospital wing, so flustered and worried that he hadn’t responded to Yusei calling across to him to ask him what had happened.

Something was so horribly, horribly wrong.

Yusei ripped out into the stadium, his D-Wheel humming across the track. He drew even with Andore in a matter of seconds—his use of the Overboost system at the beginning was finally dragging the Team Unicorn duelist back. Yusei’s D-Wheel, however, had never felt more alive.

Three opponents. He had to take down three opponents on his own. This was not in their plan—they had not been prepared for this.

 _I have to draw that card_ , he thought desperately. _If I don’t…_

Again, Jack’s explosion flashed through his mind.

Who was trying to kill Jack? The same person that had attacked Crow? Why were Yusei’s friends being targeted, and would they be struck at again while he was dueling here? He didn’t want to be out on the field right now; he wanted to be in the hospital wing checking on Jack and making sure that everything was okay. He wanted to be on the sidelines with Judai to figure out what was going on and make sure he was there to protect everyone—oh god, what if this enemy was targeting the Signers? Crow was injured, Judai was in the hospital with Jack—Lua and Luka were as good as alone and unprotected in the pit.

He needed to be _there_ with his friends while they sorted out this mess. Not out here in this tournament!

“ _Yusei! It’s your turn; don’t space out!”_

Yusei startled back to himself at the sound of Luka on his headset.

“Right,” he said. “Right.”

Jack and Aki had fought hard already—he couldn’t let them down. And if someone was targeting Team 5D’s…it might be even _more_ important to win this match.

“My turn! Draw!”

He glanced down at his hand. His heart sank for a moment. He had drawn _one_ of the cards he needed, but not the integral one…

_Come on…I need you for this._

There was, of course, no answer. He sighed as he slipped his new card in with the rest of his hand.

“I’ll summon Max Warrior in attack mode!”

His warrior appeared in a burst of sparks. For a moment, Yusei’s right arm twinged with pain where his Signer mark was. What was up with that?

He ignored it, turning his attention to his field. Aki had left Stardust Dragon for him, brought back with the equipped Wicked Rebirth. And then the card that Jack had left…

Yusei shook his head. He could do this. His friends were with him; their cards and their souls were bound to his.

“Stardust Dragon! Attack Thunder Unicorn!”

Stardust’s maw opened wide and starlight exploded from its throat. Thunder Unicorn didn’t stand a chance against the onslaught, and it vanished from the field.

“Max Warrior, attack directly!”

He had to get rid of Andore—he couldn’t afford a drawn out battle with any one of the team.

“I activate Thunder Unicorn’s effect! When it’s destroyed by battle, I can special summon it during the Battle Phase in attack position!”

_Dammit!_

Thunder Unicorn reappeared, snapping around to place itself protectively between Max Warrior and Andore.

“Max Warrior’s effect—it gains 400 attack during damage step!” Yusei shouted.

That put it at the same attack as the unicorn. Max Warrior’s attack continued, letting out a battle cry echoed by Thunder Unicorn’s whinny as the two destroyed each other.

Another flinch of pain shot through Yusei’s right arm. Dammit, what was going on? Was his Signer mark reacting to something? He grit his teeth and tried to ignore it.

“I set two cards and end my turn!”

He had Stardust Dragon, Wicked Rebirth, and three cards face down. If he could just draw what he needed…

Andore set two cards and ended his turn. One of them was The End of Storm; Yusei knew that much. He had to get rid of it.

“My turn—draw!”

_Come on, come on…_

No good.

_Damn!_

It was because he couldn’t focus. He was slowing down, too, even Andore’s slowed down D-Wheel was beginning to outpace him. Yusei thought he could catch Andore glancing at him. He looked puzzled. And why shouldn’t he? Yusei wasn’t exactly playing at his top form…dammit, if he could just _focus_!

His arm twitched with pain again and he almost dropped the card he had drawn. Was this because of Jack? Was he sensing Jack? Oh god, he couldn’t keep his mind on the duel for the life of him.

“ _Yusei!”_

Yusei snapped to alertness.

“Judai?” he said. “Is that you?”

They were whipping around towards the pit. If he stretched up and squinted, he thought he could make out that familiar brown hair leaning over the screens, the headset in his hand.

“ _Yeah, it’s me! Listen, Jack’s_ okay _. Stop worrying, please, he’s okay and I’m taking care of everyone.”_

They zipped past the pit. Lua was jumping and waving and probably cheering but his words were lost on the wind in Yusei’s ears. For a split second, Judai and Yusei’s eyes met, but then he was zipping past again.

Relief flooded his system. His arms went slack for a moment and then gripped tighter.

“Thank you,” he said. “Thank you.”

“ _Just win, Yusei. You absolutely have to win.”_

Yusei found his confidence surging back. A smile jumped to his lips. Jack was all right, Judai was back and watching him, and everything was going to work out. He could feel it.

“Not a problem,” he said.

**. . .**

Judai gave Luka her headset back and she slipped it back over her ears—he felt bad; he had given her quite a fright when he had charged over and practically ripped the headphones from her ears to shout at Yusei.

“Is Jack really okay?” she asked.

There were tears in her eyes as she looked up. Her hands were trembling on the desk. Judai put his hands on top of hers, smiling reassuringly.

“He’s fine,” he said. “He’s absolutely fine. I promise you.”

Luka swallowed, looking like she might pass out. Lua scurried over then, biting his lip and hovering anxiously.

“It’s gonna be okay,” Judai said, as much to Luka and Lua as to himself.

“But—but Crow was attacked, and Jack almost died, and—Judai, are more people going to get hurt? Who’s trying to hurt them?” said Luka, her voice cracking.

“Sh, sh, it’s okay, it’s okay,” Judai said, drawing her against him.

She trembled, pressing her head into his shoulder. Lua looked like he was on the verge of tears himself. But he was biting his lip really hard, as though to stop himself from crying. Judai reached out to grip Lua's arm too.

“I don’t want them to die; I don’t want them to get hurt; I don’t want to do this again; this was supposed to be a fun tournament; I don’t want to fight anymore!” said Luka.

Judai just held her for a moment, making soft, reassuring sounds. He ended up pulling Lua towards him too so that he had both twins gathered into his arms. Lua had been trying too hard to look tough; he needed a hug just as much as Luka did.

“I'm going to protect them,” Judai said. “I promise. I'll protect them, and I'll protect you too. We just have to believe in Yusei, now. Okay?”

“But he has three people to face!” Luka said, pushing up to look up at Judai with wild eyes. “Three! He has to beat all three of them!”

Judai smiled then and put his hand on her head.

“And he's gonna kick all three of their asses,” he said. “Don't worry. Yusei can handle them. Besides…he's not fighting alone out there, okay?”

Lua also looked up, a worried look in his eyes.

“But what about those shadow magic things? What if they come back like when they got Jack?”

“I'm not going to let that happen.”

“But…”

“Don't worry,” Judai said, more firmly. “We're not doing this by ourselves, okay? And I've got a second pair of eyes to help out this time…”

He glanced up to see if she had finally caught up with him, and was greeted with the sound of sneakers scuffling towards them. The twins looked up with curiosity, peering over Judai's shoulders. Carly appeared then with Crow in tow, since the orange-haired duelist had been right behind Judai in order to check in on Jack. He winced slightly as he came to a stop, his arm jiggling a bit too much as he had been running.

“J-Judai-kun, you're too fast for me,” Carly puffed out, coming to a stop and putting her hands on her knees to catch her breath.

“Oh! Carly?” Luka said.

“You guys _all_ know each other already?” said Judai, shocked.

“Small world, huh,” Crow muttered.

Carly peered out into the track, biting her lip.

“Is it really okay to leave Jack?”

“Don't worry. I've put up more than enough wards this time…but I can't put them up all around the stadium, and that's where you come in.”

“Me?”

“Carly?” Crow said, eyebrows raising to his hairline.

“Yes, you,” Judai said. “You're going to have to take those glasses off, or you won't see anything—you've got quite the perception filter attached to those, how'd you do that?”

“I…what?”

Judai frowned.

“Psychological, then? Well, whatever—either way, you have to take them off if you're going to help. Crow, where's Aki and Bruno?”

“Running checks of the other D-Wheels, why?” Crow said.

“I just like to have everyone where I can see them,” said Judai. “Okay, Crow, stay with the twins, Carly-san, you're with me.”

“R-right!”

Carly scurried after Judai as he jogged to the railing, peering up at the television screen that showed Yusei and Andore. Geez, how much had happened since Judai had looked away? It looked like Andore was headed in, and Yusei was down to 2000 life points? He quickly checked the turn counter screen affixed to the railing—ah, that was it…Andore had activated a card that took them both down two thousand life points. Okay, two to go…

He shifted his eyes to Yubel's for a moment, peering up at the screen. It didn't do any good; he still couldn't see auras or anything through a recording. But when he dropped his eyes to the track, he could see all the auras and shadows. None of the dangerous shadows, though, that was good. He let his eyes shift to normal again.

“Okay, Carly-san,” he said. “Are you going to be okay?”

Carly swallowed, looking incredibly nervous.

“I…I think so,” she said. “It's just—there are so many things to look at when I take my glasses off…it makes me sick…”

“I feel you,” Judai said. “You'll get better at it the more you do it. But for now I need your help in protecting Team 5D's.”

That brought a look of determination to Carly's face, her eyes hardening.

“Okay,” she said. “What do you need me to do?”

“Take off your glasses and look at that screen. Tell me what you see when you look at the screen, okay?”

Carly nodded, slipped her glasses down her nose.

“Um…I see Yusei,” she said. “He has a kind of silver glow to him…huh. His aura is a lot duller on the screen than it is in real life.”

A smile broke across Judai's face—relief flooded through him.

“I knew it,” he said. “Your sight's even better than mine—you can see auras even on a screen?”

“Um, yeah…they come through on photographs, too, and it's really annoying…”

“Perfect,” Judai said, feeling excited and in control for the first time in hours. “Okay, I need you to keep an eye on that screen. Let me know the second something happens—if you see a shadow or—”

Carly squeaked and almost dropped her glasses.

“What? What's wrong?”

“S-shadows,” she said. “The slimy ones—they're all over the track—Yusei's fast enough to outpace them right now but if they start coming together they might catch him the way they caught Jack—”

Judai's moment of cheer died, leaving him with a cold pit in his stomach.

“Keep watching! I'll be right back!”

Carly nodded, keeping her slowly widening eyes on the screen. Judai bolted back towards the pit. He noticed vaguely that he was drawing confused looked from Andore and Jan in the other pit, and vaguely wondered what they must be thinking about the weird commotion over here by now. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see that their second wheeler, Breo, was already on the track, matching pace with Yusei.

 _He has to draw that card or he's not going to be safe_ , thought Judai.

Aki jerked up at the sight of Judai racing back in.

“What's going on? What is it now?” she said. She stood straight, stiff, her expression focused—like a soldier. Right—psychic duelist. That might actually come in handy—

“Luka! Tell Yusei that he's got a bunch of shadows on his tail and he needs to get that card ASAP!”

Luka grabbed at her headset and started to relay the message and Judai whipped around to grip Aki by the shoulders.

“Listen, if things get worse than they already are, I'm going to need your help.”

“Whatever you need,” Aki said, expression hard.

“You can't see the shadows, but Carly can. I need you to go over there with her—tell her that if she sees the shadows get any closer, then she should direct you to hit them with everything you've got. You've got your Duel Disk with you?”

She lifted her arm, showing him that she had already strapped it on.

“Use inconspicuous magic so that nobody notices what you're doing—I recommend Heavy Storms; people will just think it's wind.”

Aki nodded curtly, already moving. Judai breathed out. His heart was hammering so loudly that he could hear it rattling in his brain. What next? Was there anything he _could_ do next?

There wasn't, he thought with a growing hole in his chest. He could only, watch, wait, and _trust._

_Yusei…_

**_. . ._ **

Yusei gasped—his _arm!_ Why was his mark of the dragon reacting so badly to this?

He grit his teeth as Breo's effect forced him to discard even _more_ cards. He was already down to five cards, and he still had to face Jan after this!! This deck destruction combo was ridiculous—could he really beat this?

On the plus side, the card he needed hadn't been discarded yet, so that meant it was still buried somewhere with the last five cards. Had it really been so far down in his deck?? And on top of that, he was starting to feel an odd tightening in his chest along with the burning pain of his mark. Something was horribly wrong, and he could feel it looming over him.

He felt like he was running of time.

“ _Yusei!”_

Yusei glanced up. Luka's voice echoed in his ear.

“ _You have a bunch of them—there are—Judai says—”_

“Luka, breathe,” Yusei said. “What's wrong?”

“ _Shadows! There are lots of shadows and they're all following you, and Judai says you have to go faster!”_

Yusei swore. He buckled down on his speed, pulling himself alongside and past Breo.

“Getting serious now, are we?” Breo said. “You don't have many cards left, you know.”

Yusei grit his teeth. He wanted to speed up, but if he did, would the shadows go for Breo instead? He couldn't risk that. He let up on his speed so that he was parallel with Breo.

“What's wrong, Yusei-kun? Feeling a little harried?” called Breo.

He said it good-naturedly and without malice, as though he were truly enjoying the duel. What Yusei wouldn't give to be able to enjoy this. Yusei swallowed, placing his hand on top of his deck. Five cards left. He had five turns left—that was if Breo didn't have something in his hand or on his field to make him discard more cards.

_Please._

“My turn! Draw!”

He pulled the card free, almost afraid to look.

“Trap card, open!” Breo shouted. “Tricolor Illusion!”

The card flipped up and Yusei swore. He hadn't even drawn what he needed—it was just Scrap Iron Scarecrow—and now what would this do??

“Once per turn, you have to reveal one card from the top of your deck! If it's a monster, you can put it in your hand if you put one card from your hand on top of your deck,” said Breo. “If it's a Spell, it just goes to your hand. And if it's a Trap…it goes to the Graveyard along with one other card from your hand.”

He grinned as he drew closer to Yusei's D-Wheel.

“Of course, you can destroy it by just sending one card from the top of your deck to the Graveyard,” he said. “So if you'd rather skip all that, go for it!”

Yusei grit his teeth. This was a trick. There was something else—probably that other face down. If he let Tricolor Illusion destroy itself, then…he didn't know what, but it would probably be bad. But if he drew, he could lose more cards. He would deny himself an extra turn, at the very least.

What would happen if he lost right here? What would happen if the lose sequence played out on his bike and he was forced to come to a stop, with a bunch of those shadows following him like Judai had said? It wasn't an option.

His hands tightened on his handlebars. At the back of his mind, he could almost imagine Jack shouting at him.

“ _Losing wouldn't be an option even if there_ wasn't _a mob of supernatural fucks out for your blood!”_

Yusei's lips twitched with a smile.

 _Well said, Jack_.

He wasn't fighting alone. He had to keep reminding himself of that. He had the card left on the field by Jack, Stardust left by Aki, and sleeping in his deck, the key to this duel. The card given to him by Judai.

 _Judai_ , he thought. _Please…give me some of your strength. I need it now._

“I'll reveal a card,” Yusei said.

Breo's mouth dropped open.

“You'll—what?”

It must have been the right choice, because Breo looked thrown off guard. Yusei put his hand on his deck.

_Please. Please come. I need help. Please._

He had to get it, this was his last chance, if he didn't—

— _Well since you asked so nicely_ —

Yusei gasped as a tremor ran up his arm and into his heart. It wasn't a pain so much as it was…odd. For a second, his ears popped, and he felt his heart jump, and then he was drawing the card and—

“Finally,” he breathed. “Thank you.”

He placed Scrap Iron Scarecrow back onto his deck as per the trap's rules, adding his drawn card to his hand.

“This is it,” he said. “I tribute Dash Warrior and Card Breaker on my field to summon this from my hand!”

His two monsters vanished, and he slammed the new card down on his Duel Disk.

“Come out, _YUBEL!_ ”

He felt her before he saw her. It was a wrenching feeling in the pit of his stomach, a tingle at the back of his neck, a sudden choking feeling in his throat that vanished as soon as it came. A coldness wrapped around his shoulders and he could _feel_ her.

And then she was there, zooming alongside Stardust Dragon, her black wings barely needing to flap. She turned around then, her dragon/woman body tilting in midair so that she was flying backwards, examining Yusei with a critical eye. He could actually feel her eyes on him, and a dryness started in his throat.

There was far too much power in that frame for her to be a hologram. Yusei was no psychic duelist, but Judai had warned him that Yubel's power was too much to be contained in just a hologram—she would be real, whether or not he had the power to summon real monsters or not. But he hadn't been prepared for this, for the way her eyes cut through him and her overwhelming presence. Was this what Aki felt all the time? When she summoned real monsters, could she see the _life_ in them? Did it unnerve her in the way that it did Yusei?

Yubel hummed slightly.

— _Well, I guess you're not completely hopeless_ —

Yusei gasped—her voice _tickled._

— _Don't worry about the shadows. They won't come close while I'm here_ —

“They won't?”

— _Not unless they want to be dinner_ —

She flashed him a wide, fanged grin. Then she turned around to fly forward beside Stardust again.

— _Now get to it, Yusei. I don't have time to be playing around all day_ —

“Oh, right…” he said.

He selected his spell card from his hand.

“I activate the Speed Spell, Soul Resonance! For every Resonator I remove from my Graveyard, I can destroy one trap or magic card on the field.”

“But you haven't used any Resonators!” Breo said.

“I haven't—but Jack did,” Yusei said, grinning. “And in this kind of a duel, I have the same Graveyard as my teammates, remember?”

Breo's face was priceless. Yusei grinned as he pulled forward, wind buffeting his face and the road humming below him. He could _breathe_ , finally.

“I remove two Resonators in the Graveyard from play to destroy your two backrow cards!”

Breo swore as his trap cards exploded.

“Next I activate a trap card—Eternal Battlefield!”

He had set this at the beginning of the battle—now it was finally coming into play. He could actually _feel_ Yubel's excitement roiling somewhere in his chest.

“All monsters are switched to attack position, and all monsters have to battle!” Yusei said. “Any monsters that do not attack are destroyed at the End Phase, and their controller will take 500 points of damage!”

Breo had no monsters on the field.

“First, I'll attack directly with Yubel!”

Yubel grinned as she shot forward.

 _Go easy on him will you??_ he thought, not sure if she could hear.

— _If I must_ —

Yubel only tapped Breo lightly on the head, looking disappointed as she zipped back to Stardust Dragon. Since her attack points were zero, it didn't do any damage, but he had to stop Eternal Battlefield from activating on her…

“And then Stardust attacks directly!”

This would take care of Breo—only Jan was left!

“I activate my last set card, Damage Lance!”

Breo smacked the activate button and his trap took effect. A huge lance appeared, shooting at Stardust. Stardust screamed as the lance buried into its shoulder before vanishing—but its starlight blast, although thrown wide, still grazed Breo and took his life points to zero.

Yusei flinched as his own life points went down by one thousand points—dammit. Now he had only four cards left in his deck and one thousand life points left to face Jan.

“Good match, Yusei!” Breo shouted as Yusei zipped past him.

His tone was light, and Yusei could read between the lines

_You fought pretty well, so don't feel bad when you lose to Jan next turn._

Yusei's hands tightened. Four cards and one thousand life points. His opponent had an unknown strategy, forty cards, and four thousand life points. Was he going to be able to make this?

— _Don't wimp out on me, Yusei. I didn't agree to be in your deck to watch you cower_ —

Yusei half smiled.

“I'm not giving up yet,” he said.

She actually seemed to purr for a moment.

— _That's what I like to hear. Now come…I want to fight something_ —

Yusei chuckled, feeling a little more relaxed.

Of course, that feeling dissipated as his D-Wheel jerked harshly to the side.

“What the—”

It bumped to the other side and he had to wrench it back into place. Yubel hissed angrily over him.

Shit.

_. . ._

“He did it! He beat Breo!”

Crow punched the air with his good hand and let out a whoop. Lua and Luka hugged each other, both of them laughing and almost crying. Even Judai had to smile—four cards and one thousand life points and he pulled through. Damn, Yusei…damn!

“ _Having fun out there?”_ he asked Yubel.

— _Mmm, I'd have more fun if there was something for me to sink my teeth into_ —

Judai snorted.

“ _Just keep him safe out there.”_

— _Of course_ —

And then he heard her hiss angrily in his head, her anger roiling up inside of him.

Yusei's D-Wheel rocked dangerously.

“Judai! Judai they caught up!” Carly shouted from the railing.

“Shit! Aki!”

“I'm trying, I'm trying!” Aki shouted back. “They're—really—slippery—fuck!”

Aki's magic cut through the stadium, just a brief gust of wind that still cut through some of the shadow and left them writhing on the ground.

Then Jan exploded back onto the track. He zoomed over the shadows, ignoring them—or rather, not seeing them. They seemed to be ignoring him, however, moving instead along the ground and curling around each other at the start line.

“They're going to try and trip him! Aki, cut them up! Luka, tell him that the start line is coated, he'll need to try and find a way over if we can't clear them out! Bruno, how's his D-Wheel?”

“It's fine, nothing's in the system,” Bruno said, fingers flying on his keyboard. “It's running smoother than a baby's bottom.”

“Great, great, I'm checking in with Carly, Lua, come with me, I might have to be sending you back and forth cause you're fast.”

Lua shot to his feet. His face had brightened at being involved, but that was a poor mask for the terror shining in his eyes. Judai jogged over to where Carly and Aki were standing. Aki had several spell card loaded into her Duel Disk.

“Where are they?” Aki asked.

“R-right there, lined up with the finish line! Hurry, I think Yusei's coming back around the track!”

Aki actually _growled_ as she activated her next Heavy Storm. The brief gust of wind cracked across the pavement, scattering the shadows and slicing neatly through most of them. Carly whipped around at the sound of Judai.

“J-Judai-kun, there are so many of them, they're almost blocking out the screen…”

“It's okay, breathe…Yubel should be able to handle most of them.”

He wasn't sure how true this was, though, and he bit his lip as he glanced up at the screen.

Yusei was swerving back and forth, speeding up and slowing down at random intervals. It was obviously throwing Jan off.

“We have to get him to win this,” Judai said. “We have to. If he loses—”

“I can't reach the shadows attacking him while he's on the other side of the track,” Aki said. “Unless I send out my monsters, there's no way—but I could start a panic if I do that, _and_ get them to stop the duel.”

“We can't stop it. Fujiwara is trying to stop Team 5D's from being in this tournament and he's willing to kill to do it. We have to win this no matter what, or we're playing right into his plan!”

 _Whatever that plan is,_ he thought. Seriously, what was that guy up to?

“Fujiwara?” Lua said, frowning.

“It's the guy who's controlling the shadows, I'll explain later,” Judai said, waving his hand dismissively. “Right now we have to keep everyone alive!”

“It's Yusei's end phase now—you know what happens then, right?” Aki said. “I read Yubel's effect and—”

“It's okay, Yusei knows what to do,” said Judai, desperate.

“ _I had a look at that card of yours,”_ Jan was speaking loud enough for his voice to be heard over the screens. _“You have to tribute a monster in order to keep Yubel on the field, don't you? Guess Stardust won't be staying with us, hm?”_

Yusei's jaw clenched, still focusing on Yubel's mental commands of where to avoid the shadows.

“He can't lose Yubel!” Aki shouted. “She's the only one that can see what's going on!”

“It's okay, he knows what to do,” said Judai. “Yusei, come on, come on, come on…”

“ _Yubel's effect activates! If I don't tribute a monster, she's destroyed at the end phase!”_

Yubel stiffened up in anticipation, teeth bared.

“ _And then Stardust's effect activates! When a monster activates an effect that would destroy a card, I can tribute this card to negate the effect and destroy the card that activated it!”_

“ _What the hell?”_ Jan said.

Judai had to half smile—it did look dumb, didn't it? Yubel's effect destroyed itself. Stardust's effect would negate a destruction effect but destroy the card that activated it, so Yubel would be destroyed anyway. To Jan, that must have seemed like the most pointless move in the world.

“ _Trap card, open! Star Sanctuary!”_

Immediately, the space around Yusei seemed to _glow_. Stars popped into existence around him, floating around like motes of dust.

“ _When a monster would be destroyed by Stardust's effect, I can equip it with this card,”_ said Yusei. _“Both Stardust and the equipped monster are removed from play instead!”_

The stars swirled around the two monsters as Stardust wrapped its wings around Yubel's relatively small figure. Stardust threw back its head and let out a cry—Judai felt his heart jump. It was…melodious, he thought. The most heart-wrenching, soul-touching melody that he had ever heard.

And then both monsters disappeared in a flurry of starlight.

The scorecard switched to Jan's turn. On the screen, Judai could see Jan's mouth hanging open, uncertain.

“Take your goddamn turn,” Judai muttered. “Lua! Quick, go grab the extra headset and bring it here so Carly can direct Yusei!”

“R-Right!”

Dammit, he should have done that earlier! There were precious seconds between the End Phase of Yusei's turn and the Standby Phase of Jan's, especially with Jan staring like that in shock. Precious seconds that Yusei didn't know where to turn without being able to see the shadows—

The D-Wheel spun out. Yusei let out a cry that echoed on the monitors as his D-Wheel spun out of control.

“Oh! It seems Yusei must have hit a bump on the track! He's struggling to get control of his D-Wheel back!” the announcer shouted into his microphone. The crowd was screaming and wild, the sounds buffeting at Judai's head. His brain pounded, his heart hammered, his throat was dry and he felt like he was about to pass out—

“ _My turn, draw!”_ Jan shouted.

Standby Phase.

“ _Star Sanctuary activates again! As long as this card is face up on the field, during my opponent's standby phase I can special summon the monsters removed from play by its effect!”_

The stars reappeared in front of Yusei. They rearranged themselves into the shape of a gate, which glowed once, before opening up on an image of a wide galaxy. Stardust and Yubel zipped back through, appearing on the field once more.

“He did it,” Judai breathed. “He made the loop.”

As long as Star Sanctuary was on the field, every time Yubel's effect activated at the end of the turn, Stardust would react, the Sanctuary would take them in, and they would return to the field at Standby Phase, where Eternal Battlefield would force battle with whatever Jan summoned. And as long as Yubel remained on the field, Yusei could avoid the shadows.

_You can do this, Yusei, you can do this…you just have to keep the loop going…_

“ _I hope you know, Judai, that this time I will close that loop.”_

Judai's heart froze.

Loops. Fujiwara had talked about loops. What kind of loop?

 _Oh god,_ Judai thought. _A time travel loop. I'm stuck in a loop. That's what happened._

But then why couldn't he remember? Had he done this before? Did that mean that he had traveled back in time already? How far did this loop go and how much had he done before? Where were his memories of being here once before?

His breaths were coming shorter and shorter—he was going to have another panic attack—

He only barely registered that Jan was summoning a monster. Only barely realized that the monster in question, Lightning Tricorn, was three hundred attack points stronger than Stardust Dragon.

“ _I will close that loop.”_

Stardust Dragon was destroyed.

_. . ._

Yubel screeched in Yusei's head—was he really the only one that could hear that? He could hear the echo of Stardust's last dying melody twisting around Yubel's angry cry as his dragon disappeared from sight.

No.

He was going to lose.

They had set up that loop with such dexterity—all of his friends had contributed, it had been the culmination of their efforts, and in one second—

He swerved his bike again at Yubel's snapped out order. He couldn't see the shadows, but he could feel them when they hit his bike. Yubel was practically foaming at the mouth, frustrated and angry. He could feel her bloodlust, her desire to fight something, destroy it. He tried to push those feelings down—they weren't his, and he was distracted enough fighting Jan _and_ the shadows. He didn't need Yubel's emotions throwing him further off balance.

Three cards would be left after this draw. He needed a miracle. Only a miracle would help him restore this. He had to believe—believe in the potential of his deck.

“My turn, draw!”

Gritting his teeth, he turned the card towards him. He sucked in a breath. _It came._

“I activate Speed Spell, Harmony Crystal! By removing two monsters in my Graveyard from play, I can special summon a Synchro monster and inflict damage equal to half its attack points!”

There was no question as to what he would bring back.

“Stardust Dragon, return to field!”

Stardust screeched as it returned to the field, its voice a strange, haunting melody on the edge of Yusei's mind.

 _Welcome back, Stardust,_ Yusei thought with relief.

Yubel's emotions settled, and Yusei felt somehow…odd. Something was stirring in his chest. Something strange. He felt like his vision was getting…clearer?

The melody tightened around his heart.

_. . ._

“Judai! Judai, look he brought back Stardust!”

Judai's head cleared, aware that someone was shaking his shoulders. When had he dropped to his knees.

“Judai, look!”

He blinked through his blurred vision, looking up to see Lua in his face, pointing wildly back towards the stadium. Judai sucked in a breath.

Stardust was back. Yusei had brought it back somehow.

He swallowed past his initial burst of excitement, pulling himself back to his feet. Lua tried to support him awkwardly, his little hands not quite strong enough to hold Judai up completely.

“But Eternal Battlefield is still in play—Stardust will _have_ to attack Lightning Tricorn, and it will be destroyed,” he said, biting down on the inside of his cheek. “And then at the end phase, Yubel won't be protected by Star Sanctuary without Stardust, and Yusei will be wide open.”

It wasn't enough. It wasn't going to be enough. Yubel could attack Lightning Tricorn and do some heavy damage, but then Stardust would have to attack due to Eternal Battlefield. Stardust would be destroyed, Yubel wouldn't have the protection of Stardust, and then—

What was his heart doing?

His hand jumped to his chest, clutching at it. What—what was it doing? It was jumping around funny, beating at a strange, irregular pace. His mouth opened, panting for breath. He felt dizzy and sick. Panic attack? No, no, his attacks didn't feel like this, this was strange and different and—

Was that a song he heard in the back of his head?

Yusei's D-Wheel zoomed past the pit, Jan on his tail. For a brief moment the song peaked in Judai's mind and then it was fading again, as though it was coming from Yusei and when Yusei moved away it grew fainter again.

His heart was beating with that song.

There was something at the end of that song, he had to find it. It was the same kind of song he heard when a Synchro monster was summoned; there was something there and he had to reach the end—

It was no good, Yusei was too far away. He couldn't reach Yusei. Somehow he knew, somewhere in the depth of his soul, that the song was from Yusei, or at least heightened by it, and with Yusei zooming around the track it was impossible for them to—synchronize.

_Yusei, there's something there, can you feel it? Can you feel it like I do?_

Their loop strategy was falling apart.

Was there something outside the loop that could save them?

_. . ._

Yusei's heart was jumping funny. Stardust's song was somehow _louder_ than it had been before—had he always heard it so clearly? He had always thought that the song he heard when Stardust was summoned was just his imagination. But no, there was no mistaking it now. He could hear the song, thrumming in his heart—but quiet, now, too quiet. When had it gotten louder? It had been by the pit…

_Judai._

Something was missing, he realized. The beat was missing something. A harmony. Where was that harmony?

He felt Yubel suddenly grow uneasy.

“What's wrong?” he said.

— _I…I do not…know—_

She was breathing heavily. Uncertainly.

— _There is something wrong with me. I am…what is this feeling_ —

The beat dropped off with a shuddering note and Yusei gasped. Too far. He was too far away from Judai. He needed to be closer—how did he know that?

He shook his head, trying to focus on what he could do.

“Yubel attacks Lightning Tricorn—by her effect, she won't be destroyed, and you'll take the battle damage!”

Yubel hummed with delight at finally being able to battle, and she surged forward. But that humming sound just reminded Yusei of the song he hadn't been able to catch, and it frustrated him further even as Jan's life points dropped down to twelve hundred.

There was something at the end of that song but he couldn't reach it! He needed to reach it, something outside of this loop that wasn't working, something—

His eyes fell on a card in his hand.

Stupid, stupid, _stupid_.

Why hadn't he noticed it there before?

His fingers hovered over it for a second, uncertain. What would happen if he used that card? It wasn't the source of the music…they had lost that. But if he used this, could he turn this around? What sort of being would he unlock?

He raised his eyes and found that Yubel was staring at him. Stardust, too, had turned its head around as though to stare at Yusei, with far more life and intelligence than a hologram should have. Yusei shuddered.

Yubel nodded.

The crowd was screaming with approval at the duel as Yusei's fingers closed around the card.

“I activate Speed Spell— _Speed Fusion!_ ”

Jan swore.

“ _Fusion??_ ” he said.

_Please…whatever it is, let it be enough—_

He felt his stomach drop out from under him. For a moment, his vision went completely black. He cried out, trying to grip at his D-Wheel; if he couldn't see he would crash!

But there was nothing to grip. Nothing to hold on to. He couldn't feel… _anything_. Not even his own breath or heartbeat.

**“ _Well, well, well._ This _is a new development.”_**

Yusei couldn't breathe.

**“ _Hmm. Fascinating. You may actually pull it off this time.”_**

Was he imagining this? This voice, and this nothingness? Had he blacked out?

**“ _I'm curious to see how this will play out. Take this, dragon's head. I'm not used to giving things for free…don't make me regret this.”_**

Yusei snapped back to himself, gasping for breath—his clock on his screen hadn't changed. Had any time passed at all?

But he could feel it then, something thrumming in his chest.

“I fuse Stardust Dragon and Yubel!” he shouted.

_. . ._

Judai gasped. For a second, it felt like his body had been about to rip in two and then—

The whole crowd went silent for a few awestruck moments. Judai couldn't blame them.

Because that was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen.

The dragon that flew above Yusei was _huge_. Its wingspan was big enough to shade both sides of the track as it soared with Yusei. Great black wings shimmered with the hints of starlight, a smaller extra pair of wings flapping lazily farther down its long, sinuous body. Its scales glittered in black and gray, tail tipped with a delicate point. Its giant head was long, thin, reminiscent of Stardust's head but decorated with black and gray markings like Yubel's face.

And even though Judai couldn't see it from this distance, he knew…its giant black eyes had white hourglasses for pupils.

“Hourglass…Dragon…” he breathed.

He didn't have to ask how he knew its name. Because he already _was_ it. Half of his mind was soaring up there, staring down at Yusei with his giant eyes. Yubel was in there somewhere as well, but they had been refined into a single consciousness that glittered with the ancient wisdom of stars.

“ _Yusei…”_ he breathed, and his voice echoed with a faint rumble in the dragon's chest. _“Yusei.”_

The shadows did not dare come near, not in the presence of this being. This creature that knew the beginning and end of all the stars. Its very presence was death to them, unnatural, corrupted beings that disrupted the balance.

But that was neither here nor there. There was a battle to be won, was there not?

He tipped his head down towards Yusei, because at this point Judai could barely differentiate himself from the dragon in the sky and the human sitting on the ground with his eyes unfocused, not responding to Lua's shakes.

_Yusei…let us end this._

_. . ._

Yusei breathed out, feeling himself half in the dragon, half on his bike. It was a strange, unbalancing feeling, and he tried to focus on his cards.

“Hourglass Dragon…cannot attack…the turn that its summoned,” he managed to gasp out. “I end my turn.”

“By the effect of Eternal Battlefield, it will be destroyed, then!” Jan said incredulously.

“Hourglass Dragon's effect!” Yusei shouted, thrusting his hand into the air.

The dragon's head lifted up—no, was that his head? He couldn't differentiate himself from the boy on the bike and the dragon in the air. Ugh! His head throbbed.

“When it would be destroyed, I can remove it from play,” he said. “And deal damage equal to its attack points!”

Hourglass Dragon had three thousand attack points.

Jan had twelve hundred life points.

“ _It's over,”_ Yusei/Judai/Hourglass Dragon rumbled. Could anyone else hear that, the rumbling three-voice sound that had just ripped from Yusei's throat? No one seemed to be reacting to it—

Hourglass Dragon/Yusei/Judai lifted its head up to the sky and cried out—half of a song that they hadn't been able to reach.

And then, it simply…faded. Blown away like it was made of sand. That sand drifted down towards Jan, settling lightly on his bike. He stared with wide eyes and a mouth hanging open as his life points dropped to zero and his bike started its losing procedure.

Yusei whipped past him as he snapped back to himself, gasping.

What—what had just happened? Had he really been…part of that dragon? Judai had been there too, he had been able to sense him and…

“YUSEI!!”

“Yusei!”

“You did it, Yusei!”

The crowd was screaming, stomping, shouting. Yusei blinked as he pulled his bike around back to the pit, staring up at the crowd.

He wasn't quite sure…what had just happened. But…

“Yusei!”

Luka and Lua were the first to jump on him, hugging him tightly and almost crying. He let out a soft 'oof', almost falling off his bike.

“Okay, okay,” he said, smiling. “Thanks…we all did it. Thank you all.”

“Thank god, Yusei,” Aki kept saying over and over, tears rolling down her cheeks as she laughed. “Thank god.”

“That was the frigging coolest thing I've ever seen!” Crow shouted, waving his good arm around. “When did you get that dragon?? When did you and Judai plan that? That was AMAZING!”

“W-wow, Yusei, that was—wow,” said Carly—when had she gotten over here? And where were her glasses? She looked weirdly dizzy, and uncertain, staring from Yusei to Judai to Yusei again.

“Great driving, Yusei!” Bruno said, punching the air. “First win for Team 5D's!”

“We did it together,” Yusei said, smiling.

He felt so, so tired. Like he was going to fall off his bike and sleep right there. Why was he so…tired?

“Shut up, shut up, I am going to go and see him and you can't fucking stop me! Let _go_ of my _arm_ Mikage!”

Yusei glanced up to see a very red-faced Jack storming towards him, Mikage and that one girl from the coffee shop trailing behind him.

“J-Jack! You should be in bed!” Carly cried, running over to him.

He hesitated at her arm on his shoulder, but ultimately turned his eyes to Yusei.

“I saw you on the television,” he huffed.

“You did?”

“I woke up for the last part at least…”

He smirked.

“You really do know how to pull a miracle out of your ass, don't you?”

Yusei had to smile, feeling his fatigue just dragging him down.

“One of my many talents,” he said.

Jack hmphed softly. Then he gave in to Carly's light tugs and allowed himself to be lead back to the pit where she made him sit down.

Yusei found Judai's eyes, then, a quiet figure in the crowd of happy, cheering people. Judai smiled, looking as tired as Yusei felt. He slipped over to Yusei as he got off of his bike, Luka and Lua still hanging on his arms and laughing.

“Yusei,” Judai whispered. “Did you…”

“Inside the dragon…? Yeah.”

“And that song…”

“I know, I heard it…too…”

They looked at each other.

“What do you think we were supposed to find at the end of the song?” Yusei murmured.

“I'm…not sure…” Judai said, frowning. “But I…”

He hesitated, glancing across the happy people, and smiled slightly. Then he turned back to Yusei.

“Yusei,” he said. “I need you to teach me how to ride a D-Wheeler.”

 


	11. Musca

“ _You_ gave them that card.”

“ _ **I did.”**_

“That wasn't supposed to happen. You've changed the whole timeline.”

“ _ **Isn't that what you wanted?”**_

“This was not a part of our deal!!”

“ _ **You are correct. It was not.”**_

“It wasn't a part of _his_ deal either.”

“ _ **True.”**_

“What is your game? What are you up to?? We're the only contracts you've made in years—why did you do that? Whose contract was it?”

“ _ **No one's.”**_

“I…what?”

“ _ **As I have said. I acted outside of any contract.”**_

“You—you don't do that. You've never done something like that.”

“ _ **Hmmmm…not strictly speaking true. But yes, it has been a long time.”**_

“You just made a new deal, didn't you? With someone else. Was it Yusei? It had to have been. He was the one you contacted just before the card was created.”

“ _ **And how would you know that?”**_

“Terms of my contract.”

“ _ **Ah. Of course.”**_

“So it was him. You did make a contract with him.”

“ _ **I did not.”**_

“Then that card—”

“ _ **Although I am unaccustomed to giving things for free, it seemed far too interesting a proposition to pass.”**_

“You—you just gave it to him? To them?”

“ _ **I was curious.”**_

“ _You_ were curious?!”

“ _ **Don't act so surprised.”**_

“You don't get curious. You don't—you don't have those feelings.”

“ _ **Mm. Call it a side-effect of having become so close to you, vessel. You may be corrupting me a tad.”**_

“This is not a _joke_.”

“ _ **And I wasn't joking.”**_

“You—”

“ _ **Enough. You don't have the right to question my decisions. What has been done has been done and you will accept it, vessel.”**_

“…understood.”

“… _ **.?”**_

“ _ **Yes. He's gone.**_ **Finally** _ **. I thought he would never leave. He's quite obnoxious when he gets riled up like that, isn't he?”**_

“……”

“ _ **Oh, please. Like you wouldn't have done the same.”**_

“…”

“ _ **I did it because I thought it would be interesting. Humans are curious creatures to watch scurry about.”**_

“………”

“ _ **Of**_ **course** _ **that was the only reason. You know I rarely do anything unless I think it will be amusing.”**_

“…”

“ _ **I…I am well aware.”**_

“……… …… …”

“ _ **Oh, just be quiet already, will you? I don't need to hear**_ **you** _ **preaching at me.”**_

“…… _ **.”**_

“ _ **That's—that's ridiculous, of course not. I'm not attached to anyone. I don't**_ **get** _ **attached. I don't…”**_

“… _ **.. … ……”**_

“ _ **I am**_ **not** _ **developing a heart. Only ridiculous forces like you make that mistake and then try to cover it up by hiding it in a human soul.”**_

“……………………”

“ _ **I**_ **know.** _ **But you know…”**_

“… _ **..?”**_

“ _ **They might just be able to do it…and isn't that worth the chance…?”**_

**. . .**

“Are you sure about this? It feels a little tight.”

“It’s supposed to feel tight; aerodynamics and such. Trust me. You’ll get used to it.”

“Ugh, I dunno if I _want_ to get used to it…”

“Just come out of the changing room, Judai. I’m sure it’s fine.”

“Fine, fine, _fine_ …”

Judai continued to grumble to himself as he pushed through the door. Yusei half smiled at Judai’s grumbling, but then he was looking at Judai and found a slight heat rising over his cheeks.

The new riding suit was red and black, as Judai was pretty insistent that if he _had_ to get a riding suit, it _had_ to be red. They had found one very similar to his Osiris Red jacket, with some of the same designs on the top half. He was fiddling with the gloves and the buttons that would clip it to the rest of his suit to avoid losing them while driving, and he kept messing around with the belt. It was almost odd to see Judai without the iconic flare of his normal jacket, but at the same time, Yusei couldn’t deny the fact that the suit looked very, _very_ good on him…

“Well? Will it work?” Judai asked.

Yusei managed to find his voice again.

“Yes,” he said. “I think that’s going to do nicely.”

Judai looked miffed as he tugged on the collar. Yusei reached over to help him pull it into place correctly.

“Why can’t I ride in my normal clothes?” Judai grumbled. “This feels weird.”

“You’re just not used to it yet,” said Yusei, smiling in spite of himself. “And do you really want to be distracted by your coat fluttering all over the place while you’re trying to duel at almost two hundred miles per hour? I don’t think so.”

Judai sighed, obviously understanding the logic but not liking it.

“All right, fine. So let’s get started then, yeah?”

“Right.”

Yusei paid for the riding suit and then the pair of them stepped back out into the city.

“For now you can practice on my bike,” Yusei said, handing Judai his spare helmet. “Once we get off the main roads, that is. Please be careful. I still need this bike.”

“I’ve driven motorcycles before,” Judai said.

“How fast?”

“Well…I was being chased by shadows that looked like me, so…pretty fast?”

Yusei blinked at him. Judai just shrugged helplessly, a sort of “I don’t even know myself anymore” expression.

“You attract a lot of strangeness, don’t you?” Yusei said.

“Not any more than you do,” said Judai, laughing.

“True, true.”

Judai slipped onto the bike behind Yusei, and Yusei carefully eased the D-Wheel out of its parking place and towards the open Duel Lanes. Soon, the traffic started to fade away, and it was just the two of them out on the track, the wind whistling past their ears. Now that he couldn’t hear or see the traffic on all sides of them and didn’t have to be thinking about weaving or turning or watching for cars, Yusei was suddenly incredibly aware of Judai’s arms around his waist. He hadn’t really thought about it the first couple of times that they had gone out on the bike together but now, with the image of Judai in the riding suit continually popping up at the back of his mind for some reason, he felt…awkward. Something about the loose, barely touching him way that Judai was holding onto him told him that Judai was feeling awkward too.

Yusei finally pulled them off on an empty Duel Lane. Most of the regular duelists were saving themselves for the tournament, or out on the official practice lanes, and those who weren’t in the tournament were probably too busy watching the other matches. So they were alone out here for now.

Yusei sighed as he dismounted. It was a clear, faintly breezy day, barely a cloud in the sky. The heat of a few weeks before had backed off, and it was cool and comfortable under the sun.

“Okay,” Yusei said, turning to Judai, who had slid forward in the bike’s seat so that he was gripping the handlebars. “So…exactly how much motorcycle riding have you done?”

“Well, just a few times,” Judai said. “Where are the brakes and gas on this thing? Is it like a regular motorcycle?”

“Honestly, I wouldn’t know,” Yusei said. He had quite honestly never seen a motorcycle that _wasn’t_ built for riding duels. “Here.”

He reached across the other boy and situated Judai’s hands.

“Let’s just see if you can drive it first; then we’ll start talking about actually dueling. Normally, duels are run on autopilot, but during this tournament…”

“They’re not. Right.”

“Just focus on driving it. Don’t worry about cards for now.”

“Just drive. Got it.”

Judai looked a tad bit nervous as he situated his grip and shifted his feet.

“You gonna be okay?” Yusei asked, smiling in spite of himself.”

“Oh sure. I’ve jumped out of exploding buildings before, faced down demons and whatever. Driving a motorcycle shouldn’t be hard. Definitely not more afraid of falling on my face and making a fool of myself than I am of facing the incarnation of darkness.”

Yusei laughed softly.

“We all start somewhere. You’ll be okay.”

Judai nodded slightly. Then he carefully revved up the engine and pushed himself off, moving the motorcycle forward.

“Just come back around when you feel like you’re comfortable with turning,” Yusei called.

Judai briefly took his hand off the wheel to send a backwards thumbs up. Then his hand very quickly shot back down to grip the handlebars.

For a first timer, Judai was pretty good. It didn’t take him long to get into the rhythm of the bike and soon he was driving around with relative ease, back and forth down the track. Granted, he wasn’t going nearly as fast as Yusei could, or even as fast as a normal riding duel would be, but that could come later. Confidence was first.

About forty-five minutes into it, Judai felt confident enough to try practicing dueling.

“You have your new deck loaded, right?” Yusei asked.

“Yup. Double checked.”

They had spent several hours last night upgrading Judai’s deck so that it would work in a riding duel. He had needed about a billion more speed spells to make up for his normal spells that wouldn’t be usable in a riding duel.

“What if they blow away?” Judai asked, looking nervous. “I mean; I’m going _really_ fast. How do you hang on to them?”

“I—never really thought about it, actually,” said Yusei, frowning. “Just don’t think too hard about it. It’ll be fine.”

“Whenever someone says that it turns out to _not_ be fine.”

Yusei tried not to laugh, since it was obvious that Judai was actually a bit nervous.

“Here,” he said. “I’ll ride along with you the first time. It’ll be okay.”

“Okay…”

Yusei slid onto the bike behind Judai. It was weird, being the one on the back of the bike for once.

“Ready?”

“I guess so…”

Judai eased the bike into gear and then they were moving down the track. Judai drove much slower than Yusei was used to, and he actually felt a little miffed at the pace. But suppressed that feeling. Judai was just getting used to this.

“Okay, so this holds the cards?” Judai asked.

“Yeah. You put your current hand into there so that you don’t have to hold it. Frees up one hand to stay on the handle at all times.”

“Awesome, awesome, okay.”

Judai pushed the motorcycle a little faster.

“Okay…”

He carefully lifted one hand free of the handles, the bike wobbling a bit as he figured out how to balance himself with one hand. He reached across and drew the top five cards of his deck, fingers shaking a bit as though nervous about losing them. Yusei reached around him and put his hand on top of Judai’s.

“It’s fine,” he said. “It’s okay. You won’t lose them.”

Judai swallowed, but nodded. He cautiously tucked the cards into the holder in front of him. It was a good first hand; Judai seemed to have a knack for top decking.

“Let’s just try one turn,” Yusei said. “Then we can call it off for the day.”

“Sounds good,” Judai said. “Okay, my turn. Draw!”

He again carefully reached over to his wrist shuffler to pull the next card.

“Okay, I’ll summon Elemental Hero Avian in defense mode,” he said, moving the card towards the Disk. “Oops!”

He fumbled with the card and it was almost pulled out of his fingers by the wind. Yusei’s hand snapped out, though, and closed around Judai’s hand.

“You’re too stiff,” he said. “Relax—dueling is supposed to be fun, remember?”

Judai muttered something as he slipped the card onto the Disk and his monster appeared, but it was lost in the wind.

“What was that?”

“I said it’s hard to relax when you’re pressed against me like this, dammit.”

Yusei blinked. Then he found himself flushing deeply.

“I…sorry, do you want to try this by yourself?”

“N-no, that’s not what I meant—shit, sorry, I’m just—I don’t even know. Sorry.”

“You don’t have to apologize…”

The motorcycle moved on in silence for a few moments.

“Not much I can honestly do first turn, is there?” Judai said finally. “All of my strategies are based on Polymerization. And I can’t use that without speed counters.”

“That’s true,” Yusei said, leaning over Judai’s shoulder to look at his hand. He had thought it was a good hand, and it was, if Judai had had both feet on the ground.

“Is that why Synchro summoning became so popular?” asked Judai.

“Probably. It’s an easier summoning method for high level monsters, and it doesn’t require a spell.”

“Hm…I wonder…”

“What?”

“I dunno. Maybe I should try adding some Synchros to this deck. I mean…to supplement the Fusion monsters, cause I still like those. But it would be smart to adapt a bit, right?”

“That would probably be a good idea,” Yusei said, nodding. “You know…hang on.”

He leaned back for a moment to dig into his pocket, and withdrew his own deck. He had to let go of Judai for a few seconds to select what he was looking for, and then he leaned over Judai’s shoulders again.

“Here,” he said, handing the cards over. “Stick these two on top of your deck, and Stardust into your Extra Deck.”

Judai took the cards, but Yusei thought he might be frowning at them.

“You sure?”

“Just for now. I want you to see what a Synchro summon feels like, so you can get a feel for how it would work with your deck.”

Judai nodded, and slid the cards into place. He rested his fingers on the deck for a moment before he drew out the two top cards.

“Technically, playing all these cards would be against the rules,” Judai said with a grin in his voice, as he added Quillbolt Hedgehog and Junk Synchron to the field.

“This isn’t a real duel,” Yusei laughed softly. “We can figure out strategies for you later. I just want to…”

He stopped, and he felt Judai stiffen slightly in his arms. What was that…melody? He could hear something, dancing on the edge of his hearing, not quite loud enough for him to even recognize the tune or harmony.

“Where is that coming from?” he whispered.

“You hear it too?” said Judai.

“Yeah.”

They got quiet for a moment. Listening. Just the sound of the bike zooming across concrete and that song.

“I think it’s coming from somewhere over us,” Judai said. He started to slow down, glanced up into the sky.

“Wait, Judai, I think that’s making it quieter,” Yusei said, straining. “Try going faster.”

“But the sound of the bike will…”

“Just try, please.”

Judai nodded. His hands gripped the handlebars and he pushed the bike to higher speeds.

It worked. Yusei could hear the song even clearer now, hear it straining and swelling and _thrumming_ in his head and heart.

Judai gasped in front of him, hands tightening on the handlebars.

“Are you okay?” Yusei asked.

“I—Yubel—something is happening to Yubel.”

A low hiss escaped Judai’s lips and Yusei somehow knew that was Yubel’s voice and not Judai’s.

“Yubel?” Judai said. “Yubel, are you okay?”

“What’s wrong? What’s happening?” Yusei asked.

This was the song they had heard before, during the battle against Team Unicorn—but why now? And what was happening to Judai?

“Judai, pull over. Judai—Judai?”

Judai wasn’t responding. The bike was starting to faster, Yusei could hear the song getting louder and louder and the world was blurring around them and he could feel something clawing at his chest—it wasn’t painful but it was shocking and he could hardly _breathe_ and—

“Judai! _Pull over!”_

They were going too fast, way too fast, he could feel his ears popping as though the pressure was changing around them and there were flashes of green light following them and Judai _wasn’t responding_ —

And then white. Just…white.

Yusei couldn’t see anything except white. He tried to move his hands, but found that he didn’t _have_ hands. He didn’t have anything, he didn’t… _exist_. He was just sight, just someone staring into whiteness and nothing.

Small black dots started to appear, glowing like inverted stars against a white sky. He could hear a deep humming, rumbling sort of voice in the distance, but he couldn’t hear the words. In response, a lighter, melodic voice was speaking, a voice that made him think of the color red and the warmth of fire spreading through his chest.

_Something is waiting here. I need to—I need to find it—_

But he was nothing but whiteness and he couldn’t move, couldn’t speak, could barely think—what was this place? What was the thing that he was looking for?

Something beyond speed…?

Yusei snapped back to himself.

“JUDAI!” he shouted. “ _PULL OVER!_ ”

Judai gasped, seeming to come back to himself. He swore as he hit the brakes, bringing them to a skidding stop, almost spinning out. The bike wobbled over and Yusei’s leg shot out to hold them upright. The holograms of the three monsters flickered out of existence.

For a moment, they just sat there, gasping for breath.

“What happened?” Yusei said.

“I—I don’t know.”

“Are you okay?”

“I think so.”

“What about Yubel?”

Judai hesitated.

“She’s okay. Shaken, but okay. Something was…changing. That song was doing something to her. To both of us.”

“I think it was doing something to me too.”

After a few more beats, Judai released the handlebars of Yusei’s bike. Yusei pulled himself off and landed gently on the ground, turning around to help Judai up. Judai was still gasping for breath, and he fumbled with his helmet. Yusei helped him lift it off.

They just stood there in silence for a few seconds, staring at the bike.

“What do you think that was?” Judai asked.

“I…I don’t know.”

He hesitated.

“Did you see that white place too?”

Judai glanced at him.

“What white place?”

Yusei frowned.

“For a moment I…I was in a place of just…whiteness. It was almost like that place that Sherry and Bruno and I ended up in back at Security a few weeks ago but…different. Older. Much older.”

Judai’s brow furrowed, and his eyes dropped to the ground for a moment.

“No,” he said finally. “I didn’t…see a place like that.”

He glanced up at Yusei again, brown eyes meeting blue.

“But I did see…darkness. Nothing but black and shadows and _darkness_ …the same place I’ve seen over and over in my dreams since I got here.”

Cold settled over Yusei.

“Then we saw the exact opposite thing.”

“Yeah.”

“The song did that?”

“I think it was reacting to me attempting a Synchro summon…”

“We felt it on the battlefield, before, too.”

“Right…”

“Judai,” Yusei said. “Is this song _dangerous_?”

Judai bit his lip. They both fell silent—part of them, it seemed, had both wanted to believe that the song was something they were supposed to figure out. Something…important. A power like the Hourglass Dragon that they were trying to achieve.

“I don’t know,” Judai said finally. “I don’t…know.”

Yusei was still trying to learn the Accel Synchro of that mysterious man from weeks ago, before Judai had even shown up. Was that what they were on the verge of? Why was he only sensing this near Judai?

“It definitely has to do with Synchro summoning,” Judai said. “I don’t know…what would have happened if I tried to Synchro summon. If I had been able to, at least.”

Yusei glanced at his bike.

“Do you think…we should try again? See what happens?”

Judai also turned to stare at the bike for a moment. Then he shook his head.

“Not today,” he said. “I don’t think…I can handle it.”

Yusei nodded. He had been hoping Judai would say that. He had only just realized that there was a tremble running through his arms, just enough to cause his whole body to shake. Whatever he had seen, whatever had happened to them…it _scared_ him.

Judai let out a deep sigh, and almost unconsciously, pressed back against Yusei. Yusei automatically slid his arms around Judai’s shoulders. Judai was trembling too, he realized, and he tightened his grip slightly.

They stood there, pressed against each other, just thinking. For a long, long time.

**. . .**

It was late by the time that Judai and Yusei returned to the house, the sun setting behind the city skyline. Judai was _dead_ tired. He could hardly pull himself off the back of the motorcycle after Yusei parked in the garage.

So he wasn’t really fully prepared for seeing everyone bunched together in the small living area.

“Guys?” Yusei said, frowning. “How long has everyone been here?”

Because it really was _everyone_. Jack, Crow, and Bruno were here, of course, but also the twins, Aki, and even Carly. Carly in particular shot straight up as soon as she had heard the garage open, her glasses askew on her face, a strained, nervous look on her face as she peered towards Judai. That's right, he hadn't really had a chance to talk to her about what she could do yet, had he? That was something he was going to have to talk about tonight—among a million other things.

Judai sighed and closed his eyes for a few seconds. He didn't want to do the talking and explanation thing tonight—he was too _tired_. But everyone deserved to know what was going on.

“How was practicing?” Aki asked as the pair of them approached.

“Well, I didn't fall off so…good?”

Aki smiled, looking impressed.

Judai flopped onto the couch with a large sigh, wondering if he looked as tired as he felt. Crow sat on the other end, with Lua and Luka curled up on either side of him. He was stroking Luka's hair gently with his good hand, Lua being very careful not to lean on his injured shoulder. Bruno was in his usual swivel chair, pushing himself absently from side to side. Aki stood behind the couch with her hands on the back, chewing on her bottom lip. Jack had taken up residence in an armchair, looking very pointedly towards Bruno, but that might have been because Carly was in the opposite direction sending very obvious, furtive glances in his direction. Judai didn't have the time or energy to interpret _that_.

“So,” said Yusei, coming back from replacing the helmets on the shelf. “What's going on, guys?”

“We were waiting for you to come back, hoping you could tell us,” Crow said.

“Yeah,” said Lua. “We wanna know what happened last night.”

“Who was trying to kill everyone?” Luka whispered, her voice cracking.

“Just—what is even going on, really?” asked Carly.

Judai sighed.

“Better start from the beginning,” he said. “Carly, you're new to this so far, right…?”

“Well, this part, at least,” she said, frowning. “But I know everyone already…”

“Right,” said Judai. “Well, first off, I'm Yuki Judai. I'm from thirty years ago.”

“Time travel?” she said, sounding less surprised and more intrigued, which surprised Judai.

“Yup. Basically. Although, I have no idea how or why.”

Carly's eyes sparked with interest, but she just nodded and left it at that.

“Last night,” said Judai. “I met someone I knew in high school. He's older but…it's definitely him.”

“And he's the one trying to kill us?” Crow said.

“I'm afraid so.”

“Why?” Yusei asked. “Why would he do this?”

Judai shook his head.

“I wish I knew. Fujiwara had _issues_ , but not this bad. I thought he had gotten past this…”

“Gotten past killing people?” Jack asked, raising an eyebrow.

“No, I mean—Darkness.”

He shook his head again.

“Right. Beginning. I should start at the beginning. Anyway, back when I was in high school, Fujiwara was older than me. Technically, he should have graduated one or two years before I did but he…he became really, really interested in this force called 'Darkness.'”

“Creative name,” Bruno mumbled.

“Yeah, right?” said Judai, almost laughing. “But he let himself…basically be absorbed by it. Long story short, he came back as Darkness' herald, basically. Pretty much the entire world was absorbed temporarily into Darkness for a few hours, before I managed to beat him and Darkness and drive it out of him.”

“He was possessed?” asked Aki.

“More or less,” said Judai. “And I think—I think he might have gone to Darkness' power _again_. I can't see any other explanation.”

“But why is he trying to kill us?” Luka whispered. “Why is he after Team 5D's?”

She looked so, so pale. Lua reached over Crow to grab Luka's hand in reassurance.

Judai closed his eyes.

“I…I don't know.”

His lips tightened.

“But I think that's why I'm here. I think that's _why_ I showed up. Because something is going on…”

He frowned, then, though. Thinking about what Fujiwara had said: _“I could stop this. Right now. Stop what you started.”_

Had Fujiwara started trying to kill Team 5D's _because_ Judai was here? But then—what was he trying to stop from happening? Judai had a feeling he really was stuck in a time travel loop, but he didn't know why he couldn't remember doing it. What would have taken his memories? It didn't make any sense.

But if Fujiwara was doing this because of Judai's presence…did that mean this was Judai's fault?

Shit.

He noticed then that Yusei's hand was on his shoulder. He glanced up at the other boy, those azure eyes meeting his with that usual calm firmness. As though he had heard Judai's thoughts and wasn't about to let Judai blame himself for this. Judai smiled tentatively at Yusei, and Yusei smiled back, his whole face softening in that way it did when he smiled.

“Anyway,” Judai said, turning back towards everyone. “One way or another, Fujiwara's trying to kill or hurt Team 5D's. I wouldn't be surprised if he was behind your shoulder, Crow.”

“If that's true, I'll bash his fucking head in,” Crow growled. He clenched his good fist for emphasis.

“Um, Yuki-san, this Fujiwara person, what does he look like?” Carly asked, perched so far on the edge of her seat that she looked like she might fall off.

“He's…tall. Green hair, in a ponytail. His eyes are…black. Just…full black.”

Carly paled.

“I saw him,” she whispered. “Just before Jack's bike exploded. I met him at the top of the stairs.”

Judai sat straight up.

“You talked to him?”

“A—a little. My glasses fell off and he…he wanted to know why I was wearing them.”

She hugged herself, looking down at the ground.

“They stop you from seeing auras, right?” Judai said. “It's psychological.”

“I—I guess so. I just—I don't like seeing all of that all the time…it hurts my head.”

Judai nodded, understanding. It was hard enough for him when he was _looking_ for it. He couldn't imagine having to see all of it—auras, shadows, souls, everything—all the time and all at once. He didn't blame her for not wanting to see it.

“And he…he apologized to me,” she said quietly. “Just before…Jack…he said he was sorry. Something about…”

She looked down at her hand then, as though uncertain. For a moment, she glanced over at Jack.

Jack, for his part, was staring straight at her as though he didn't realize he was doing it, open and unabashed until her eyes met his. Then his eyes quickly dropped away and he looked back the other direction again. Carly seemed to wilt a bit, but she bounced up a second later with a huge, fake smile.

Judai had no idea what had just gone on there, but he didn't have the energy to ask.

“So he tries to kill Jack, but he apologizes to Carly for it?” said Crow, raising an eyebrow. “Sounds like a weirdo to me.”

“It has something to do with Darkness,” Judai said. “And something to do with why I came here. One way or another…we're probably going to find out. And we're probably not going to like it.”

The room fell silent for a few moments.

Then, with a sigh, Crow rose carefully from the couch, shifting so that Luka wouldn't fall over.

“We should get some sleep,” he said. “No use thinking in circles. We know that somebody's out to kill us; that should be enough for now, yeah? I mean, we can just do what we did last time to make it work. Right?”

“I guess,” said Judai. “Nagisa-san, do you mind coming to the pit from now on? I'll probably need your help seeing the shadows.”

“S-sure! I don't mind at all,” she said.

Judai nodded.

“Then that should probably be it, right…?”

He glanced up at Yusei, who hadn't spoken much tonight. Yusei nodded quietly.

“Lua, Luka, how about you two stay here tonight,” Yusei said. “It's too dark for you to go home by yourselves. And I don't like thinking about you two home alone right now…”

“Okay,” Luka said.

“Sounds good,” said Lua.

“Carly, do you need any help getting home?” Bruno asked.

“No, I'm fine, thank you! I have my car; I'll drive…oh! Izayoi-san, do you need a ride…?”

“If you want to offer one, that would be great, thank you,” said Aki.

Soft conversations continued as the quiet shuffle of people getting themselves up and settled and ready to go continued. Judai just sat on the couch for a few moments, head resting on the back, staring at the ceiling.

Crow was already in the kitchen with Jack, and Judai could half hear Crow whispering angrily at Jack and Jack making irritable retorts back. He thought he heard Carly's name in there somewhere, but he wasn't really listening.

Yusei was walking Aki and Carly outside, and Lua had wandered over to where Bruno was tinkering with something, almost as though it were a nervous habit.

He didn't realize Luka sidling over closer to him until she cleared her throat quietly. He glanced up.

“Oh, sorry,” he said. “What's up?”

“I need to talk to you,” she said under her breath, sounding…nervous?

Judai sat up.

“What's wrong?”

Luka was shaking a bit.

“W-well…first off…um…did Yusei tell you about my condition?”

“He said you were kinda sick, but not much more than that…”

“I have…epilepsy. Or a kind of it. It makes me zone out every now and then…I used to have bad seizures, too.”

“What's wrong? Are you having bad ones again?” he asked, worried.

“No,” said Luka. Her eyes flickered over to Lua, and then back up to Judai. “Lua's been having them.”

“What?”

“My…my doctor was always surprised that Lua never had them because he thought it was genetic, and we're identical twins, so…he thought that Lua should be having them too, but he wasn't. I thought that it must be because of my powers. Because they could never really…figure out exactly what it was.”

“That makes sense,” said Judai, nodding slowly. He glanced over at Lua, worried. “Lua's doing it now, then?”

Luka nodded.

“Ever since you arrived here, I think,” she whispered. “I asked Yusei what time you showed up and—it matches the same time that Lua did it the first time. I just found him in front of his video game staring at nothing and he wouldn't respond to me for almost five minutes…”

Her eyes were welling up with tears, and her hands were shaking. Judai hesitated, then he awkwardly put his arms around her, drawing her close.

“Sh, sh, it's okay. It's okay.”

“I'm so scared. What if Lua has a bad one like I did and he goes into a coma? Why is he getting it just now? Does it have something to do with what's going on? Judai-san, I'm so _scared_.”

“It's going to be okay,” Judai said, stroking her hair. “It's going to be okay.”

Luka shook against him, her hands curling into his shirt.

“And…and Judai…I…I need to know one thing,” she whispered.

“What?”

“This man…the one that you said is trying to kill us. What's his given name?”

Judai hesitated, hearing the tremor in Luka's voice.

“Yusuke,” he said. “Fujiwara Yusuke.”

Luka went rigid in his arms.

“N-no,” she whispered. “T-that can't be true. You're sure? You're totally sure that's his name?”

“Yeah, I am…Luka?”

Luka was pushing away from him, tears rolling down her wide, terrified eyes.

“It can't be. That can't be.”

“Luka, what—why? What's wrong—”

“Because—because—”

She choked on her sob for a moment, pressing a hand over her mouth.

“Because— _Judai_ ,” she whispered. “Fujiwara Yusuke is my _dad_.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *distant evil laughter*
> 
> There ya go. Fanservice (did ya like Judai in a riding suit?) sandwiched between exposition and suspense~
> 
> Idk, was that reveal at the end even surprising because I feel like I was really obvious with it. Well, here's to hoping the next update doesn't take so long. Have a great day friends~
> 
> Oh and here's a link to my inspiration for Judai in a riding suit: http://40.media.tumblr.com/f751f5372ecaf7e6a569a57e86711d36/tumblr_n9ys7f30UX1t9mrg8o1_500.jpg


	12. Scorpius

Judai needed _out_.

The sun wasn't even peeking over the horizon yet when he slipped out the front door into the lazy morning city. Mist swirled about his feet like groggy snakes trying to slither out of his path. There was still activity, of course, it _was_ a city after all. There were still cars, and the street lights were still on even though the morning light was starting to creep tentatively above the horizon, there were still people shuffling about, already on cell phones or with music playing in their pockets—but it felt muted somehow. Distant. Maybe that was just Judai's mind playing tricks on him. He wouldn't be surprised.

He felt somehow guilty about leaving without telling anyone but he just needed some _time_. Time to think about the crazy shit that was happening all around him. Besides, he couldn't sleep and he didn't want to wake anyone, not when everyone needed their rest after that…revelation of Luka's.

It had been so hard after that. Luka was practically hysterical as Judai tried to hold her, Lua was shouting over and over that there was no way that his dad was the one trying to kill everybody, there was no _way_ , tears bubbling over from his eyes as Crow gripped his shoulder in one hand and tried to whisper soothing things to him, Aki and Carly hovering at the edge of the commotion as though uncertain they should leave now, Jack pacing back and forth and looking like he wanted to snap, but then his eyes would fall on the hysterical twins and he would close his mouth and go back to pacing, Bruno spinning back and forth in his chair nervously with his eyes staring at nothing.

And the way that Yusei just stood there. Mouth slightly open, pain in the back of his eyes, almost frozen in the wake of everything.

“ _You're positive?”_ was the only thing he could whisper. Judai hadn't been sure if he was talking to him, asking if Judai was sure that it _was_ Fujiwara Yusuke, or Luka, if she was sure that that was the name of her father.

After that, things were a blur. Eventually, Crow had gently pried Luka from Judai and led the kids upstairs to get some sleep. They were probably still piled into Crow's bed—Judai had thought it might aggravate his shoulder, but Crow was pretty insistent that the kids stayed with him. _“They need someone right now,”_ he had said.

Judai half growled under his breath.

 _Yeah, because their deadbeat dad isn't much help right now_ , he thought bitterly.

He didn't know where he was going but he needed to _move_. So he picked a direction and started walking. To hell with it if he got lost. Maybe he _wanted_ to get lost, so then he could focus on getting unlost instead of focusing on this goddamn pile of shit that he was mired in.

He shoved his hands into his jacket pockets and kept his head down so that he wouldn't have to make eye contact with anyone on the street. The scents of coffee shops and bakeries beckoned him and his stomach growled, but he didn't have any money on him and honestly, he was just too _angry_ to eat right now. His hands curled into fists in his pockets.

Part of him couldn't wrap his mind around it. Fujiwara Yusuke. A father. Who the hell was the _mom_? That was one mystery Judai couldn't figure out. Now that he knew what to look for, the twins definitely shared his resemblance, so they were definitely his biological kids. So where was mom? Or other dad, if that was how this was? He just didn't know. He had no idea what to think anymore. Fujiwara? With _kids_? And why was he trying to kill the Signers? Did that mean he was going to target his own _kids?_

No…no, that wasn't it.

“ _I understand how you must have felt, but did you really have to get them involved?”_

Judai paused in the middle of sidewalk. His eyes lifted for a moment to the slowly lightening sky.

“Oh god,” he whispered. “This is a time loop—something must have—”

Something must happen to the twins. Something Judai did—something Team 5D's did— _must_ lead to the kids getting hurt somehow. _That_ was what Fujiwara was doing. He was trying to stop something from happening. He was trying to protect his kids.

“Why won't you just talk to me, you bastard?” he whispered. “If I just _knew_ what was going to happen, like _you_ obviously do…we could try and stop it _together_.”

He didn’t want the kids to get hurt. People getting hurt was the _last_ thing Judai wanted. Judai didn’t even know what was going on or how or why he had gotten here—Fujiwara obviously did, so why couldn’t he just share the knowledge? They might have a better chance, then, of averting…whatever was going to go wrong.

Judai sighed. Then he blinked at the familiar humming sound of a D-Wheel approaching from behind. He glanced over his shoulder to see a red D-Wheel and its rider humming down the street along with the lazy early morning traffic. He squinted, wondering if it was someone he knew or had seen during the WRGP yesterday—and then the figure grew closer, and the helmeted head seemed to turn towards him, and he realized it was Aki. He raised a hand to wave as she went past, but she was already slowing down at the sight of him, pulling off to the side of the road near him.

She turned off the D-Wheel and leaned back onto one foot, pulling off her helmet to let her hair fall around her face again.

“Good morning, Judai!” she said, smiling. “I wasn't expecting to see you out and about.”

“I wasn't expecting you, either,” said Judai. “Going for a practice run?”

She nodded as she tucked her helmet under her arm.

“I felt so hesitant last night,” she admitted. “I know I have to duel at least once more before Crow's healed enough to take back over. I don't want to drag the team down before he can get back on the road.”

“I don't think that's a problem where you're involved,” Judai said with a smile. “You're an amazing duelist, and a quick study with the D-Wheel to boot. Didn't you say you had just gotten your license like a month ago? You had some fancy driving out there last night.”

She ducked her head, blushing a bit.

“No, really, I was terrible,” she said. “I should have been able to go longer—I couldn't even take out one duelist, and Yusei had to handle everything. I have to do better.”

Judai considered trying to insist that no, she was a great duelist and whatever happened last night came from a combination of chaos and distraction, but he decided to let it go for now. If Aki was as hard on herself as he thought she was (he knew the feeling), then continuing to insist wasn't going to do her any good.

“What about you?” she asked. “What brings you out?”

He shrugged.

“Clearing my head…there's so much happening.”

She nodded, eyes softening in sympathy.

“I feel you on that,” she said, glancing out towards nothing for a moment. “It's…a lot, everything that's happening at once…how are the twins holding up after last night?”

“Dunno…took them a while to get to sleep. Crow took care of them…I left before anyone woke up, so I'm not sure how they're feeling.”

She nodded, her eyes taking on a distant cast to them.

“I can't even imagine how hard that must be for them,” she murmured. “To find out that your father is…”

She trailed off. Judai understood—there were no good words to describe it.

“I mean…I've had my own troubles with my father, but I can't imagine knowing that he would go that far, and hurt the people close to me,” she said, shaking her head. “I just…I hope they're going to be all right.”

“I'm hoping I can confront Fujiwara soon,” Judai said. “Maybe when he's not trying to kill everyone. I need to know _why_ he's doing this. Maybe if he knew how it was affecting his kids…maybe we could work together to fix whatever it is he's trying to fix by attacking Team 5D's.”

He stopped, shaking his head slightly, his bangs swishing in front of his eyes. He was rambling. Aki, however, seemed to understand, meeting his eyes with sympathy.

“We can only hope,” she said. “I would hate to make Lua and Luka's father our enemy…”

She sighed.

“So are you just taking a walk, then?” she said.

“Yeah, I guess…I'm not really sure.”

“I heard that Yusei was teaching you acceleration dueling…would you like to come and practice with me? It might help and…honestly, I could use the company…”

She ducked her head, running a hand through her hair for a moment. For a moment, Judai was going to refuse. He wanted to think about things…but then it was like at the back of his head, he could practically hear Shou scolding him: _“Stop being so distant! Your friends want to help, you know!”_ He almost smiled at the image—it came through so clearly.

_All right, Shou, you win._

“Sure, if you don't mind me tagging along,” he said. “I don't have a D-Wheel with me, though…”

“That's fine, I figured we could switch off every lap or so? I'm just headed out to an empty lane to do a few laps, practice drifting and all…” she said. “And I don't mind at all, or wouldn't have asked. Honestly, I was starting to feel kind of…lonely, anyway.”

She laughed as though to dismiss the feeling as silly, but Judai could see the flicker of pain that flashed behind her eyes. He definitely made the right decision in saying yes, then…Aki needed someone right now, and he would have been a cruel person to deny her that—especially with everything going on.

“Sounds good,” he said. “Good plan, I mean. So where are you headed?”

“I was thinking Duel Lane 67, it's usually empty since it's kind of far out, and it's one of the lower lanes…people like the higher lanes for some reason. I think that dueling at high speeds without added height is bad enough,” she said with a laugh. “So if you want to just slide on, we can go out there together.”

“Oh, sure…”

Judai hesitated a moment, feeling awkward, but she scootched forward to make room, and he slipped onto the D-Wheel behind her. Her D-Wheel, unlike Yusei's, had extra handles on the back, so he was able to grip those instead of having to awkwardly put his arms around Aki. Aki revved up the engine and slid her helmet back on.

“There's an extra helmet on the back if you want it,” she said.

He nodded even though she couldn't see him, and fumbled behind him for a moment to find the compartment with the helmet strapped inside. Once it was on, Aki pulled off the curb and into traffic again, zooming down the street towards the much quieter and emptier duel lanes.

The world zipped by in a blur. Aki didn't drive quite as fast as Yusei, but it seemed she was already comfortable enough to drive faster than Judai could on his own. Judai watched as cars fell away and they passed Duel Lanes that were already in use by practicing duelists. Aki drove them towards the edge of the city, where the lanes were clearer and there was barely the sound of traffic in the distance.

She pulled off once she had entered the lane, stopping to let Judai off.

“Do you mind if I take the first lap?” she asked.

“Go for it. I'd like to see how you do it first.”

She blushed and mumbled something about her not being anything really to see, but Judai just smiled and stepped back to let her take off.

She zipped away with a graceful ease. Judai was honestly impressed at how good she was with so little time. She moved with a dance-like grace, somewhat different than the powerful explosions of acceleration that Jack, Crow, and Yusei seemed to be good at. The way that she tilted the D-Wheel just so to take advantage of a curve's momentum, or to drift along the edge. She made a couple of tighter, jerkier turns as though dodging something, and he even saw her flip the bike around to drive _backwards_ for a moment.

By the time she returned to where he was standing and pulled off her helmet again, Judai was incredibly impressed.

“How did you do that backwards thing?” he said. “I didn't know that D-Wheels physically moved like that!”

Aki smiled as she dismounted.

“Yusei taught me,” she said. “D-Wheels are made so that the wheels will turn the direction they need to at a moment's notice, without changing gears—it's better for maneuverability.”

“It was amazing—I probably won't be doing that any time soon!”

“It was hard to learn, honestly. You'll definitely get there, I'm sure you will.”

He shrugged, but smiled anyway.

“Out of curiosity, why the jerkier turns every now and then?”

“Practicing in case we have to dodge shadows again,” she said. “I don't want to be caught off guard…I need to be able to move anywhere at a moment's notice.”

Judai nodded. She was so much more amazing than she thought she was, wasn't she? He wondered what had made such a talented girl think so poorly of herself.

“Want to have a lap?” she asked.

“Might as well, since I'm here…I'll try not to crash your D-Wheel.”

“Don't worry, I have emergency autopilot turned on,” she laughed. “If you go out of control it will automatically switch from manual to autopilot mode.”

Judai tried to hide how relieved that made him feel, and Aki laughed softly.

“Don't worry. You'll be fine,” she said. “If I can do it, practically anyone can.”

“Hey, stop selling yourself so short,” he said as he carefully mounted the D-Wheel and eased it into life. “All right…be right back.”

Aki stepped back and sent him a reassuring thumb's up. He sent one back and eased the D-Wheel into motion.

He went far slower than Aki had, although he did manage to get himself to a good eighty-five miles an hour. Nowhere near the intense speeds of an actual duel, but it was something of a milestone for him. He still could barely imagine dueling like this, but once he had fallen into the rhythm of the D-Wheel, he found that he was enjoying himself. The wind racing past him, the world blurring, the feeling of the tires humming on pavement…it was, for lack of a better word, _relaxing_ somehow.

He didn't try anything too crazy, although he did attempt a few jerkier turns and dodges, because Aki was right, if he was going to learn to D-Wheel, he was going to have to be able to dodge and weave at a moment's notice. He realized at this point that Yusei was totally right—a riding suit made dueling at high speeds one hundred percent better. Even with his jacket zipped up he could feel the wind dragging on it irritably.

He pulled himself back around to where Aki waited and came to a stop.

“That was really good! Isn't this just your second time riding?” she said, eyes sparkling.

“Yeah, I guess,” he said. “I'm not going fast enough yet to actually duel, though…”

“It's fine, take your time,” Aki reassured him. “I can't believe you're this far already!”

He shrugged and blushed as he dismounted, pulling off his helmet.

“Whew…I think I might need a break, though. It's kind of draining after a while. Want to take another lap?”

Aki hesitated, then shook her head.

“I think I could use a little more of a breather too,” she said softly.

Judai blinked at her for a moment, frowning at the sadness in her voice all of a sudden.

“Aki-san…are you okay?”

Aki blinked, as though out of a daze.

“Huh? Oh, yeah, I'm all right,” she said.

She wasn't all right. Judai could tell in the way her eyes ducked from his and how she started to rub at her neck self-consciously, the way that her other hand started to play with the zipper of her riding suit. But did he really have the right to pry? He looked down at the ground for a moment. The silence grew for a long time.

“Am I going to be enough?” Aki whispered suddenly.

Judai glanced up.

She wasn't looking at him. Her eyes were somewhere else, the wind playing with the strands of hair around her face.

“Enough for…what?”

“For this. This fight. Am I going to be enough?”

She waved at the D-Wheel, her riding suit, the world around them. She still wouldn't look right at Judai, but she could see the hint of tears in her eyes, just waiting to spill out.

“Aki…you're already enough. You've been doing so great.”

“I…I don't feel like I have. I feel like I always fall short. I'm not…strong enough. I'm a burden on everyone, aren't I?”

She sighed, hugging herself.

“Aki…”

“I know, I know, no one thinks of me as a burden,” she said. “But I—I can't help but feel it. For so long, I've been told that I—that I'm not enough. That I'll never be enough, that I can only do what's told of me and nothing else and I'm—Judai-san…I'm scared. I'm scared of this.”

Judai hesitated. He could _feel_ the hurt in her voice, as though it were a pain in his own heart.

“Aki, whoever told you that was wrong,” he said. “No one sees you as a burden, and you're more than enough, okay? And trust me, I know…I know how it feels to feel that way. I really do. It's hard to fight the thoughts like that…but you can do it, I know you can.”

Aki looked down at the ground.

“Judai-san…can I…ask you something?” she said.

“Huh? Oh, sure.”

She swallowed.

“When you had your powers…when you started to use them…what happened? Did…did you scare people…?”

Judai hesitated. He felt his own pain flutter in his chest.

“…yeah,” he said. “Yeah…I mean…my parents weren't around a lot regardless, but after people started getting hurt every time I played a game with them…they started to fight a lot. And I always felt like it was my fault…”

Aki nodded.

“My parents were scared of me,” she said. “I—I accidentally hurt my father in a duel, and he was scared, he thought I must be a monster wearing his daughter's face at first.”

“Aki…”

“I wasn't enough for them, I wasn't…enough of a normal person for them,” she said, and it was clear that she was starting to ramble. “And then—and then I met Divine, and for a little while, I was enough for him, for once in my life—but then I stopped being enough. He started telling me that I wasn't trying hard enough, that I wasn't good enough, that I wasn't worth enough to be loved by anyone except him and I—”

She put a hand over her mouth for a moment, trying to still a sob. Judai moved forward to put a hand on her shoulder, squeezing gently.

“I'm scared,” she said. “Yusei and everyone—they treat me like I'm enough, and I know they think of me that way but…but I'm so scared. Every time I mess up, every time I don't do good enough I'm afraid they'll leave me. I have—I have to be enough.”

“You _are_ enough,” Judai said. “Just you _existing_ is enough, Aki. All of your friends think that. I promise you, that's all you have to do—all you have to do is _be,_ and that's enough. You're doing amazing things already. Do you really think that Yusei, or any of them, are going to walk away if you mess up?”

She shook her head.

“That doesn't stop me from being afraid,” she said. “That somehow, I'll lose him, and everyone. Yusei was the first person in my life that told me I was enough and meant it. I'm scared that I—that I'll disappoint him.”

“You won't,” Judai assured her. “Yusei is not going to disappear…and neither am I, okay? I'm here for you, too.”

Aki's shoulders were shaking; tears were rolling down her cheeks. Judai thought maybe he should hug her or something, but couldn't really move, so he just stood there with his hand on her shoulder while she cried.

It took her a few moments to calm down.

“Thank you,” she whispered, her voice hoarse. “I guess…that's been building up for a while. I'm sorry to unload on you.”

“Hey, it's fine,” Judai said. “You're gonna be all right, okay?”

“I guess I've just…I've been scared to talk to them about how I'm feeling,” she mumbled. “And…and I think this has been affecting my powers…I haven't been able to summon sometimes when I'm practicing…”

A burst of shock stabbed through Judai.

“…what?”

“I've been trying to practice my psychic powers, because we need them for this fight, but I—I couldn't bring out Black Rose this morning. She just…wouldn't come. The hologram turned on but she wasn't there…the same thing happened on the way here. I tried to summon Twilight Rose Knight while I was driving, but it was just a hologram.”

“Aki, that's not because of your emotions—your emotions don't stop you from summoning. I should know.”

She blinked at him, uncertainty fluttering across her hazel eyes.

“Then…why…?”

Judai felt a coldness spreading in his stomach.

“I don't know,” he said. “I'm sorry, Aki, I know you're not feeling well, but could you try and summon for me? Right now?”

“Sure,” Aki said, looking nervous.

She didn't have a regular duel disk on her, though, so she slid back onto her D-Wheel.

“Just one lap should do it, right?”

“Right—I just need to see why you might be being blocked.”

She nodded, and revved the engine to life. The D-Wheel burst away, and Judai's eyes slid from dark brown to orange and green, watching her crimson aura flutter around her like a pair of wings. It _looked_ normal enough. There shouldn't be a problem with her powers from what he was seeing, and he didn’t see any shadows lingering around her, either. Or anywhere at all, actually.

She was kind of far, now, but Judai could still see her. She looped around the far end and started heading back—he could see her drawing her cards and starting to move to a summon and—

Something fluttered at the corner of his eye. Before either of them could react, Aki's D-Wheel suddenly spun out of control.

“AKI!”

He heard her cry out as the back wheel hit a bump and the whole thing slammed up into the air, sending her up and over the handlebars—her hand flashed down to slam a card onto the Duel Disk, the hologram was whirring to life, Rose Tentacles reached out its long vines to catch her before she hit the ground—

She phased right through the monster.

It was just a hologram.

“ _AKI!”_

Aki hit the ground head first and rolled as her D-Wheel spiraled off to the side and crashed against a wall. Judai bolted for her—Yubel's power flooded him, pushing his legs to move faster than a normal human's, trying to reach her—

“Aki, Aki, _Aki!_ ”

She was breathing, oh thank gods, she was breathing, but her eyes were fluttering and she didn't appear to be conscious—she must have a concussion, oh god, how did he even go about calling for an ambulance in this time frame?

“Aki, wake up, god, please, you have to wake up—”

What had happened? Her powers had failed, for no discernible reason, her D-Wheel had tripped up on _nothing_ , and Judai had a sinking feeling in his chest that he knew who had done this and why.

 _Why? Fujiwara_ why?? _Why Aki? She's—she didn't—_

“Aki, please, oh god, wake up—”

He fumbled for his phone, managing to hit the speed dial for Yusei, praying that he was awake, one hand on Aki's shoulder trying to gently nudge her back to consciousness, her fingers were twitching and she was struggling for breath, had she broken a rib maybe? If she had a punctured lung—

Yusei picked up on the second ring.

“Judai? Where are you—”

“Duel Lane 67, Aki just had an accident, she needs a doctor _right now—_ ”

Yusei swore on the other line and immediately hung up; Judai could only hope that meant he was calling an ambulance instead.

Judai dropped his phone and put both hands on Aki's shoulders, trying to will her to keep breathing, to stay with him—

“ _Am I going to be enough?”_

Aki.

Oh god.

. . .

“Her condition is stable,” Crow said, as though on autopilot, his voice monotone. “She's not awake yet, and she has a bad concussion and two cracked ribs, but otherwise, she's going to be okay.”

“Not in time for the match tonight, though…” said Jack. The white-coated duelist had his arms folded, and was clutching his arms so tightly that it seemed he might punch holes right through the fabric. “How the hell did this happen?”

Yusei could barely look up. He sat in one of the uncomfortable hospital lobby chairs, arms on his knees, staring at the ground. Judai sat beside him, just as quiet and stricken.

“Fujiwara?” he muttered to Judai.

“It had to have been…” said Judai.

“Why Aki? She's…she's just our pinch hitter. She shouldn't be—shouldn't be a major target.”

“I don't…I don't know…”

Yusei's hands curled inwards.

“Dammit,” he swore.

Aki's powers had failed. No one knew why. Without her tag-teaming with Carly to clear out shadows at the match tonight, they might be in for a world of hurt. And besides that…

Yusei felt his stomach clench as he thought about it. That scared, broken girl that he had met that first time at the tournament, who had lashed out at him wildly because that was all she knew how to do. The way she had glanced back at him after Divine had lead her away afterward, the vaguest plea for help that even she didn't seem to realize she was crying out for yet. How _strong_ and confident she had been that night when she decided she would step in for Crow. What a difference six months could make…

How could someone try and steal her away from life when she had only just barely begun to live it?

“Where are her parents?” he asked.

“In the room with her…that's why they kicked me out. Or, well, they said I could stay but I figured…”

Crow sighed, rubbing the back of his neck with his good hand.

“Why _Aki_?” he muttered. “Why her?”

No one could answer. Judai shifted beside Yusei.

“Are the twins still at your place?” he asked.

“Yeah. I think they wanted to come but at the same time…I don't know if Luka can physically handle this right now. The last thing we need is for her to have another attack…they'll be all right with Bruno.”

Yusei sighed, running a hand down his face. Besides, if this Fujiwara really was their father, it was likely he wouldn't go after them. It was just…safer for them to be back at home.

“This is my fault,” Judai whispered, so quietly that Yusei could barely hear him.

Yusei finally looked up.

“No, it's not,” he said, perhaps a bit more harshly than he should have.

“I shouldn't have made her try to summon.”

“How were you supposed to know that her D-Wheel would spin out?”

“I could've—I could've done something to stop her fall—”

“Stop it,” Yusei said, standing up with a jerk. He stalked around to face Judai and put his hands on his shoulders, gripping tightly until Judai looked up at him. The boy's eyes were watery with uncried tears, his face taut and his hands trembling. “ _Stop it_.”

“Yusei—”

“You did anything you could. You called me and got the ambulance there in time. Can you imagine what might have happened if you weren't with her at all? This feels _planned_ , Judai. Can you look me in the eye and tell me it wasn't, knowing what we know now? Someone targeted Aki for a reason, and if you hadn't been there while she was practicing, she could still be laying out there on the ground alone and unconscious. Please, Judai. _Stop.”_

Judai drew in a shaky breath. He closed his eyes for a moment. Then he nodded. Yusei sighed, releasing Judai's shoulders.

“Aki's a fighter,” Crow said, looking determined. “This isn't gonna take her down for good. Not by a long shot.”

“None of us doubt that,” said Jack. “I'm more interested in knowing why her powers didn't work in the first place. Rose Tentacles should have been able to catch her.”

Yusei glanced at Judai. He was the only one here that knew how magic worked.

“What could have stopped her from summoning? Lack of focus?” Yusei asked.

“At her level? No way,” said Judai. “Monsters like Rose Tentacles, that she's made a deep connection to, should appear with barely a thought. It should be as natural as moving a muscle—and you don't just _forget_ how to move your fingers in a day. She technically shouldn't even need to use a Duel Disk at this point, but old habits die hard.”

Judai sighed, dropping his head.

“It all happened so fast, I didn't see if there was a change in her aura…” he said. “But there's no way that it was because of her. Something else must have affected her or…”

Yusei blinked.

“Or…?”

Judai hesitated, glancing up at Yusei.

“Or for some reason, Rose Tentacles just…decided not to come.”

“They can do that?” Crow said, frowning.

“The Shadow People have wills of their own, of course that can happen,” Judai said. “But it shouldn't have happened. Aki and Rose Tentacles were _close_. That monster would probably kill itself if it thought that would save Aki from something. The only explanation I can think of is that somehow, Aki's call didn't reach.”

“What would have stopped it from reaching?” Jack asked, eyes flashing.

Judai shook his head.

“Fluke of dimensional interference, shadow magic, the list goes on,” Judai said. “Like I said, it happened so fast…otherwise I probably would have seen what happened…”

He ground his teeth. Yusei touched his shoulder reassuringly, then turned his attention to Crow and Jack.

“We'll find out what happened,” he said. “And Aki _will_ get better.”

They all nodded. Yusei, then, frowned.

“But we have a dilemma—our match against Team Catastrophe is in three hours. And we're down a rider again.”

“I can go,” Crow said, eyes hardening.

“Your shoulder is nowhere near well enough,” snapped Jack. “Right, Judai?”

“He _is_ right…if you try you might complicate things and my spell isn't going to be able to fix you as fast. You'd be ready to duel by tomorrow, but tonight…”

“Well you guys aren't going out there by yourselves!” Crow said. “Just the two of you against Team Catastrophe? I know today's been a crazy day, but did you _see_ what happened to Team Unicorn against them?”

Yusei's lips tightened—he was still not happy about that. Team Unicorn might have been a bit manipulative, but they had been good, honorable opponents. To hear that they had lost like that…

“Wait, what happened?” Judai said, lifting his head.

“Andore crashed,” Crow said. “And so did Breo. It was Jan against the last two of them by himself, and he ended up getting injured by flying debris and had to forfeit because it was too bad to keep riding.”

“What, you mean they're out of the tournament?”

“Unless they have magic healers like you, they're not going to be riding any time soon…”

Judai froze.

“And you…you think Team Catastrophe _made_ that happen?”

“It looked pretty shady,” Crow said, glowering. “Which is _why_ you guys are _not_ dueling them with just two wheelers. No way.”

“And no way are _you_ dueling in your state!” said Jack.

“Who died and made you team mom?” snapped Crow.

“Guys,” Yusei said. “Not here, not _now_.”

Jack and Crow looked like they were about to bite each other's heads off, and they were attracting dirty looks from the other hospital patrons. Yusei felt so _tired_ right then. This was too much. This tournament was supposed to be _enjoyable_. They had decided to join the WRGP as a way to move past the darkness of their pasts, a way to find their way towards a new future that before, in their lives in Satellite, they had never thought they would see.

But it was just another battleground again, and there was nowhere to turn to rest his head.

“Can it, Yusei!” said Crow. “Two against three is not happening, and that's final!”

“You're right, it's not,” said Judai suddenly, standing up with a jerk.

Everyone stopped and stared at him.

Yusei thought he knew what Judai was going to say already.

“Judai, no. You don't have a license, and there is no place that is running tests right now.”

“Yeah, besides, you're not exactly the best rider at this point?”

“I haven't exactly been trying _that_ hard,” Judai said, although how much of that was bravado was uncertain. “And the license part doesn't matter. Because Yuki Judai won't be on the field. Izayoi Aki will be.”

“What?” said Yusei blinked.

Judai smirked.

“Whoever did this thinks they took Aki out,” he said. “What would they think…”

He slid a card out of his pocket and twirled it around once, revealing it to be the trap card Dark Illusion. A blink later, not Judai, but _Aki—_ albeit an Aki with dark brown eyes instead of hazel—was staring at him.

“…if Aki showed back up on the dueling field anyway?”

He flipped the card again and Judai was back. All three boys stared at him. It was Crow that finally broke the silence.

“You're kind of scary, do you know that?” said Crow. “What _else_ can you do that you haven't been telling us?”

Judai laughed, a little bit darkly.

“I dunno. I tend to forget what I can do, myself.”

He met Yusei's eyes.

“Well?” he said. “Game on, or not?”

Yusei stared at him. Then he breathed out, shaking his head.

“You win,” he said, running a hand over his face. “Dammit, Judai, yes. You win.”

He glanced at Jack and Crow, and could already tell that, probably against their better judgment, they were in agreement.

“You know that if whoever attacked Aki thinks that you're her, they'll probably try and fix the mistake of not making you unconscious during the match?” said Jack.

Judai actually smiled.

“That's what I'm counting on.”

. . .

She could hear the sound of a woman sobbing softly, the soft whispers of a man trying to soothe her. The tall woman bit her lip, hesitating outside the door. Gods, it couldn't be that bad, could it? Setsuko had told her it had been an ordinary D-Wheeler crash, and she knew better than anyone that every duelist crashed once in a while.

She tapped on the door and the sobs calmed. It was Hideo that answered, looking haggard and worn.

“Tenjoin-sensei,” he said, sounding as tired as he looked. “I didn't know you were coming.”

“Setsuko called me,” Tenjoin Asuka said, shifting her bag on her arm. “I came as quickly as I could…Aki-chan is a dear student of mine, and I couldn't believe that she had been…”

She bit her lip again.

“Is it all right for me to see her?” she asked.

“Of course, of course…thank you so much for coming all the way here…”

Asuka nodded a silent thank you to Hideo as he held the door open for her. The hospital room was small, stark, and bare, like all of them were. She hated these places. She had frequented them all too often in her high school years; people were always getting hurt in one way or another.

Izayoi Setsuko sat at the edge of the bed, still crying silently. She turned and stood to greet Asuka, the two women hugging each other tightly.

“How is she?” Asuka whispered.

“The doctors say she's going to be okay, but…but she won't wake up…”

Setsuko's eyes flooded with tears again, and Asuka took the woman into her arms, stroking her hair softly as the woman sobbed into Asuka's shoulder.

“I just—we just got her back, Asuka, we just got her back; we were such fools when she was a child, and she chose to forgive us and come home, and now—oh, god, what if we lose her…?”

“Sh, sh, sh, it's going to be all right,” Asuka said. “It's going to be all right…”

The door opened, then, and a nervous looking doctor poked his head in.

“I'm so sorry to interrupt,” he said. “But we need Izayoi-san's parents to fill out some paperwork…”

Setsuko stiffened even as Hideo sighed and stood up again, having just sat down.

“It's okay,” Asuka said. “I'll stay with her until you get back.”

Setsuko swallowed. Then Hideo gently took her hand, met her eyes, and the pair nodded to Asuka before stepping out into the hallway.

It was just Asuka and Aki, now.

The girl looked so peaceful laying there. Her usual hair pin had been removed, so her long bangs were combed to each side of her face instead. Her chest rose and fell with a careful steadiness, heart rate monitor beeping softly.

Asuka sank into the chair beside Aki, feeling her heart pang.

“Oh, you,” she whispered. “Why did this have to happen to you?”

Asuka hadn't known Aki very well before having her in homeroom this year, but she already knew that the girl was immensely kind and strong. She was the top of her class in almost every subject, and Asuka often saw her tutoring other students in the library. She had seen Aki in the dueling arenas often, not dueling, but watching the younger kids and stepping in when they got a little too cruel to each other. The quiet, angry girl that had been whispered about all over school before was now the one that everyone looked up to.

Asuka sighed, reaching out to brush a strand from Aki's face.

“You poor thing,” she murmured. “I'm so sorry…”

Aki's breath hitched. Asuka blinked, her eyes flicking to the heart rate monitor. Normal. Steady. Her eyes fell back down to Aki—were her eyes fluttering?

Asuka was just starting to think about calling a doctor when Aki's mouth started to move. At first, there was nothing, no words or sounds, and then, the barest whisper…

“ _Judai,”_ she murmured. _“Judai…”_

Asuka's breath caught in her throat and died. She half stood, staring at Aki with slowly widening eyes. Aki's fingers were starting to twitch now, her eyelashes fluttering as though she was in a dream.

“ _J-Judai,”_ she mumbled. _“T-the dragon…is only…half…”_

“Aki? Aki, are you awake? It's okay, you're all right, just breathe…”

Aki sucked in a thick, strangled breath—and then she relaxed again. Her breaths returned to normal, and it seemed that she was just…asleep.

Asuka stared down at the girl. Her heart hammered in her chest. Was it—had she really just…?

Asuka swallowed. No, she hadn't imagined it. Aki really had said…

The teacher was already reaching for her cell phone, dialing a number that was implanted on her speed dial and drawing the phone up to her ear.

“Manjoume? No, I don't care how busy you are. Get your ass to Neo-Domino right now, and bring Shou with you.”

She bit her tongue for a moment, barely believing that she was going to say this next sentence.

“ _Judai's back.”_

 


	13. Scutum

**“Now who's the hasty one, hm?”**

“…………………………”

**“You know, at least when** **_I_ ** **reached out, I didn't put one of them into a coma. And** **_you're_ ** **supposed to be the one that** **_cares_ ** **about humans.”**

“………… ……… _.”_

**“Yes, well your version of 'helping' apparently involves throwing humans around like rag dolls. You** **_do_ ** **know that they're not very sturdy, don't you? I should know. I've broken more than one, and I'm usually not even trying.”**

“… _. ………”_

**“Overestimated your force? You made your presence so thick that even her very soul shadow couldn't hear her when she called. I think you chose the wrong human, anyway. She's strong, yes, but she's not very perceptive. Why didn't you use one of my contractors?”**

“… _..”_

**“Well,** **_excuse me_ ** **. I'm sorry that my contractors gain too much darkness from me for you to reach them. You know, the Light Channel is still an option, isn't he? Why bother with the Talon when you can reason with the Head?”**

“……………… _..”_

**“Ah, I see, so it's all my fault again. I would remind you that am merely playing by the rules, you know. The rules that we made.** **_Together_ ** **, if you remember correctly.”**

“……………………………………”

**“…you believe they can do it, then?”**

“……………”

**“This wouldn't have been a problem if you had just dealt with the corruption five thousand years ago. We** **_had_ ** **options then. Options that you discarded.”**

“… _.”_

**“You're too sentimental. Besides. You didn't seem too concerned about loss of life when you were trying to contact the Talon. She could have died, you know. She was very close to it—if you hadn't been around, pestering her when she couldn't even hear you, she would have been able to summon and that crash wouldn't have hurt her.”**

“…………… _.”_

**“I…I don't care about them. I don't care about humans. I** **_don't_ ** **care if she got hurt. I was just surprised that** **_you_ ** **were willing to let it happen.”**

“……………… _.”_

**“I do not intend to make myself a heart any time soon. I saw what it did to you. I'm not keen on the idea.”**

“……… _..”_

**“…no. You're right. We** **_are_ ** **changing. The problem is…you're getting weaker, old friend. Your voice is becoming too soft. People that should hear you cannot any longer.”**

“… …………………… …”

**“I do know why. And so do you. Now do you see why I'm so willing to bet on such a small hope…?”**

. . .

Two hours and thirty-six minutes until the next duel. Two hours and thirty-six minutes. Two hours and thirty-six minutes—

Oh, her watch was five minutes faster than the clock here—oh, gosh, which one was right? Two hours and thirty-six minutes—two hours and thirty-one minutes? Ooooooh goodness…

Carly moaned and plopped onto the couch in the middle of her frantic pacing. Pacing never did anyone good. She just had to relax. Right. Relaxing was good. Just close her eyes and breathe for a moment…

She squeaked and her eyes flew open again. No, never mind, closing her eyes was a bad idea. A very bad idea. She popped back to her feet and started to pace again across the concrete floor, sneakers shuffling and squeaking. She chewed on her lip. Everyone was going to be here soon, right? Right? She felt like she had been waiting for _ages_ and sitting here alone in this empty house wasn't doing her nerves any good.

The door at the top of the stairs swung open. Carly stopped her pacing so quickly that she almost fell over.

“All I'm saying is that if they're somehow behind it, it's going to make things a million times more complicated!”

“Hmph. We just have to win, don't we? That's simple enough.”

“Ugh, you're hopeless…oh! Carly! When did you get here?”

Crow and Jack had appeared in the doorway, Crow blinking down at Carly.

“I—uh—Judai-san asked me to come as soon as I could and so I was waiting for him…um, Zora-san let me in! I didn't break in or anything…is Judai-san here?”

“Yeah, he's bringing up the rear with Yusei and Bruno…” Crow said, taking the stairs two at a time. “Bruno thinks they found some data that proves that our next opponents are the guys that attacked me and Aki, and made Team Unicorn crash.”

“Eh? You mean Team Catastrophe?”

“Yeah, those're the ones.”

Carly cocked her head, brow furrowing.

“But then…that just makes everything more complicated! If they're behind it, then why? Are they working for someone that we already know is trying to attack us? Or are they just a new enemy?! Ugh, my head hurts…”

She clutched at her head for a moment as a headache panged through it.

Crow sent Jack, who had just come down the stairs behind him, a self-satisfied grin.

“See? Carly-chan gets it,” he said. “It's not just a 'we just have to win' sorta situation.”

Carly swallowed, still staring down towards the floor and not looking at Jack. She was too afraid to look up and see him staring at her—or worse…pointedly not looking at her. Like always.

“Oy, Jack? Where are you going?”

Carly's eyes snapped up just in time to see Jack's coat snapping as he walked towards the stairs up to the top floor with the bedrooms. Not looking at her. Like she had been afraid of.

“Oy, _Jack_ ,” Crow said. “For the love of…that asshole.”

He ground his teeth irritably. Then he glanced at Carly.

“You do not have to forgive him for anything, ya know,” he said. “You should yell at him once in a while. He never listens when I do it.”

Carly blinked, uncertain of what to say. Crow didn't seem to be paying attention, though, shaking his head.

“Of course, that doesn't mean I'm not gonna keep trying…”

He grumbled to himself as he stalked off, leaving Carly alone once again.

Carly watched him go with a growing pit in her stomach. Slowly, slowly, she turned around and slipped back onto the couch again. She let out a deep sigh, feeling her eyes flutter closed again.

_Jack…why do you keep avoiding me?_

The door opened again, and she turned to look over shoulder.

It was Judai, Bruno, and Yusei. Bruno appeared to be on a mission as he hurtled down the stairs with a flash drive and made for the computer without even glancing at Carly, immediately starting up the system and letting his fingers fly across the keyboard. Yusei and Judai seemed to finish whatever conversation they were having and then Yusei trotted down the stairs to walk over to Bruno, nodding at Carly with that small, quiet smile of his.

Judai noted Carly almost immediately and jogged over.

“Hey, sorry for making you wait, we came straight from the hospital,” he said. “Hey…you okay? You're not looking very well…”

She flushed. Oh, no, did she look as bad as she felt?

“I—I'm okay,” she said. “Just didn't sleep very well. After what happened to Aki-san, you know…”

Judai nodded, lips twitching with sympathy.

“I know that feeling,” he said. “Anyway…the duel tonight.”

Carly nodded mechanically.

“Aki-san is hurt, and you're dueling for her,” she said. “That's what you said on the phone.”

“Right,” Judai said. “Which means the team is going to be relying on you today.”

She swallowed through a dry throat.

“I figured,” she mumbled.

Oh, man, she was so out of her league! She couldn't even get her news stories in on time, much less help the Signers take down something that had hurt _Aki-san_ …

“Hey,” Judai said, quiet, soothing, putting a hand on her shoulder for a moment. “You okay?”

She licked her lips.

“I…no. I'm scared.”

Judai grimaced.

“It probably won't make you feel any better, but so am I.”

“No, that makes me feel a little worse, actually,” she blurted, and then she flushed.

But Judai laughed softly.

“This isn't going to be easy,” he said. “But we need you—we need your eyes for this.”

She nodded. She knew that. She knew—she had to be there. For this one thing, she could do something useful.

“What am I supposed to do?” she whispered.

“Watch,” he said. “I'm going to be on the field so my eyes will have to be elsewhere. You need to keep an eye on everything—you're a journalist, right? Observation is your thing. Look for shadows, auras that don't match up right, whatever looks wrong. You'll be on headset to guide us if something looks wrong.”

She nodded.

“We think that there's something going on with a card of theirs, so that's what I mainly want you to look for.”

“R-right.”

Judai met her eyes, and for a moment, even with her glasses on, she could see the glimmer of gold behind his eyes, that shining, royal aura that seemed to ripple off of him like a king's robes.

“You can do this,” he said quietly. “I really believe you can. You have…you have a strength in you. I can see it. You just haven't put enough faith in yourself.”

She dropped her eyes to the floor, unable to meet his gaze any longer. She didn't feel like she had a strength in her—didn't feel like that at all. She felt more like she had been filled up with something nasty, like she had drunk spoiled milk, and then vomited it up everywhere, and she was still feeling the sickness and the aftertaste. It would not go away—like the nightmares, the taste wouldn't leave her. She felt…somehow empty, but she didn't know why.

Judai was nodding to her and starting to walk back towards Yusei.

“J-Judai-san,” she called, impulsively.

He hesitated, glancing back over his shoulder. The words left her for a moment, and she was staring at him with her mouth hanging open like a dumb fish.

“Yeah?” he finally prompted.

She swallowed.

“I think something's wrong with me,” she whispered. “Or like—like something wrong _happened_ to me. But I can't remember. I—I can't remember.”

Judai frowned, turning to face her fully again.

“What do you mean?” he said.

“I think something—happened. Six months ago. When the Signers were fighting the Dark Signers—something happened to me. I'm missing almost…almost three weeks of memories. Maybe more. Something happened then, and I don't…I don't know…”

She fumbled for her words again.

“Jack won't look at me anymore. Did I—did I do something wrong? And I keep having these nightmares, and I can't remember them when I wake up. He won't _look_ at me, I thought we were becoming friends, but then I forget what happened and he won't even glance at me…”

She choked on her words and had to stop, pressing a hand over her mouth to still the sob that was about to rip free. Judai reached out to grip her arm.

“It's okay,” he said soothingly. “It's okay.”

“I'm scared,” she said. “What did I do? Is that why I can see these things now? Why is he…why is he mad at me…? I just want him to look at me again.”

Judai gripped her arm a little tighter.

“I don't know what happened…but it's going to be okay. I'll see what I can do for you, okay? I'll see what I can do.”

She swallowed around the lump in her throat. Geez, she was being so stupid.

“T-thank you,” she said. “I'm sorry.”

“Don't be,” said Judai, letting his hand fall back to his side. “Sounds like you've been to hell and back…I did that once myself. Makes you feel used up pretty badly.”

She nodded.

Judai's eyes wandered over to Yusei, and he seemed thoughtful.

“I'll see what I can do for you, okay? Whatever I can to make you feel a little better. But please, whatever happened…however bad it was…”

And he smiled a bit ruefully at this, as though at some morbid inside joke.

“Whatever happened, I'm sure that if Jack is really your friend, he'll be able to forgive you. It'll turn out okay.”

Carly swallowed through a dry throat, her eyes wandering up the stairs to where Jack had disappeared.

“I hope so,” she whispered.

. . .

Yusei left Bruno to his mumbling and analysis of the D-Wheel readouts and went upstairs with the intent of taking a shower. He stopped, however, when he heard the angry whispers towards the end of the hall, between him and the bathroom.

“Leave it, Crow.”

“I will not fucking leave it.”

“It's none of your business.”

“Do you not see the way she keeps glancing at you?? You are breaking that poor girl's heart and you won't even tell her why.”

“It's _none of your business_.”

“You're making it my business by being a _fucking asshole._ ”

Yusei bit his lip, eyes narrowing. That was Crow and Jack, but what were they talking about…?

He moved a bit closer, feeling guilty for eavesdropping, but was unable to stay his curiosity.

“Look at her, Jack—she's _scared_. And she trusts you for some goddamn reason and wants to feel safe again. You make her feel that way when you're not being an ass and ignoring her.”

“Crow, just shut up. I'm done with this.”

“I'm not! You saw what happened to Aki. Carly is involved now whether you like it or not, and something could happen to one or both of you and she's never going to—”

There was a thump and Crow swore. Yusei took a half step forward—he thought he could see Jack shoving Crow against a wall with far more force than was necessary and he thought he might have to break it up if they started to fight—

But Jack released Crow with a jerk, drawing backwards.

“You don't get it,” he growled. “You just—you don't get it.”

“No, I don't,” Crow said back. “And neither does she. Is that what you want for her?”

Jack shot Crow a harsh glare. But then his face seemed to crumple in on itself, and he stepped away, shaking his head.

“Just shut up about this,” he mumbled. “Just shut up.”

And he turned, and stepped into the bathroom, locking the door behind him. Crow stared at the door for a moment. Then he swore again, shaking his head and turning back towards the loft. He passed Yusei along the way and didn't seem surprised that he was listening.

“He's hopeless,” Crow said as he passed. “And I'd let him crash and burn if it wasn't hurting Carly.”

Yusei frowned, uncertain of how to respond to that, but Crow was already gone. Yusei stood alone in the dim hallway, uncertain of what to do now. There were only a few hours until the next duel…what should he do to calm down?

Because he was _nervous._ He could feel it like a buzz in his head, a tremble in his hands. He didn't want to think about how his hands were going to shake when he finally started the duel itself. Would he lose his cards to the wind? There were still so many things they didn't know and it was starting to eat at him.

All he could see was Aki laying in that hospital bed, cracked ribs and concussion and looking as though she were just asleep instead of injured. All he could see were visions of more accidents, of Crow laying at an unnatural angle on the ground, Jack coughing up blood, Judai crushed beneath his D-Wheel—

He felt bile rising in his throat and pressed a hand to his mouth to still it.

A soft footstep caught his attention. He looked up to see Judai standing at the top of the stairs, looking concerned.

“You okay?” he said.

Yusei opened his mouth, intending to say yes, but what came out instead was a breathy,

“No. I'm not.”

Judai smiled wryly.

“Me neither,” he said.

“I keep thinking about the rest of you getting hurt,” Yusei whispered.

“Me too.”

“I can't do this.”

Judai reached for his arm, squeezing his elbow.

“Yeah, you can.”

Yusei swallowed, closing his eyes for a moment. He could feel the tremble in Judai's hand even as he was holding his arm.

“You're just as scared, aren't you?” he said.

“Yeah,” Judai said quietly. “I'm terrified. Aki got hurt, these people might be behind it, that means their might be more enemies than just Fujiwara, others could get hurt, and I keep thinking that this is going to be me on a motorcycle again with you nearby and what's going to happen if…”

Yusei already knew what Judai was thinking about.

The song. He was thinking about the melody.

“I don't know if it's friendly or not,” Judai whispered. “We could have crashed the last time it tried to reach it.”

“I know.”

“And usually I can sense things…I can usually tell if an energy is malicious or not but with that…I couldn't tell. Either way. I'm…I'm scared of it.”

Yusei nodded. Judai closed his eyes, and Yusei could see the tremble in the other boy's shoulders.

“I left Yubel with Aki,” Judai whispered. “Because I think she has something to do with the melody…we can figure it out later but today…we just have to win.”

Yusei nodded. It made sense. Yubel could protect Aki from anything that came after her. He didn't really like the idea of facing the shadows without the duel spirit's help, but, with Judai on the field, it was likely that they would be all right anyway.

“But did I do the right thing? Is anything I do right? What if I mess up? If this really is…if this really is a time travel loop, like Fujiwara said, then I've already messed up before. I could hurt you guys, or make something happen that will make you guys get hurt and—”

Yusei stepped forward and pulled Judai into his arms. For a moment, Judai stiffened. Then his arms slowly, tentatively slid around Yusei's waist. After one more awkward beat, he relaxed in Yusei's arms, burying his face against Yusei's shoulder. Yusei dropped his head into Judai's hair and breathed in, trying to imprint the realness of the moment to remember where he was. Both of them were trembling—both of their grips tightened on the other.

They just stood there, holding each other in the dark hallway, trying for one moment to not think about the what-ifs and the what-will-bes, for a long, long time.

. . .

Asuka settled into a seat towards the very middle of the stands, barely noticed by the chattering crowds. The voices rose and fell together, a dull roar around the arena—she actually found the background noise quite soothing. And she needed all of the soothing she could get.

Her hazel eyes scanned the crowd for any sign of the people she was waiting for. Not here yet. Typical. Manjoume was likely to be late to his own funeral—although she was surprised that Shou was taking his time. He liked to be five minutes early to everything.

Well, he was probably letting Manjoume hold him up. Asuka wasn't unduly worried, they had fifteen minutes before the duel would start. She was curious to see what Team 5D's would do. She had done a bit of reading, and learned that one of their members, a Crow Hogan, had injured his shoulder and was unable to ride without risk of furthering his injury. Aki was their only registered backup wheeler, and she was in the hospital. Would they duel with only two wheelers?

She hummed to herself, pressing her lips together.

There was a brief commotion in front of her as a group of kids pushed their way into the aisle, chattering excitedly. She recognized a few of the faces from Duel Academy—that was little Hayano Tenpei, wasn't it? And of course Patricia, she was in Asuka's after school study group. A sweet girl.

The little blonde turned in her seat for a moment to speak to a dark haired boy beside her, and noticed Asuka.

“Ah! Tenjoin-sensei!” she said, eyes brightening. “You came to watch the WRGP too?

“Of course she came, everybody who's anybody comes to this!” a rather chubby boy beside her said.

Asuka smiled at the kids. She couldn't help herself, they were so adorably exuberant.

“Yes, I'm here,” she said. “Are you having fun today?”

“Yes, sensei!” they chorused together, save for the young boy with dark hair, who just folded his arms and scowled deeply. There was something very familiar about that scowl…

“Oy, you,” said a familiar voice as a hand dropped down on the dark haired boy's head. “Are you being trouble?”

The boy spluttered as Asuka smiled and stood to greet the lanky man.

“Manjoume-kun, good to see you,” she said. “Do you know him?”

Manjoume nodded as he ruffled the boy's hair against his protests.

“Good to see ya too. Been a bit, hasn't it? And yeah. This is Sly—Manjoume Sly. He's my niece's kid. What are you doing here, scamp?”

“Watching the damn WRGP, what the hell does it look like?” Sly said, looking incredibly put upon.

“Oy, watch your mouth, or I'll tell on you,” Manjoume said, grinning.

“Oh, give him a break, Jun,” Shou said, popping out from behind him. Even this long after their high school days, he was still barely over five feet, and it was easy to miss him behind Manjoume's broadened frame.

“I'm his great uncle, it's my job to be obnoxious and eccentric,” Manjoume said, ruffling Sly's hair one more time.

Sly muttered to himself under his breath as Manjoume left off and slid into the seat beside Asuka. Shou rolled his eyes and plopped down beside Manjoume, on the aisle.

“Johan couldn't make it?” Manjoume asked.

“He's on his way, but the flights were delayed…this is pretty short notice after all,” Asuka said. “Take a look at this, I want to know what you think.”

She handed a packet to Manjoume, who flipped it open with one hand and slung his other arm over the back of the chair. Shou leaned in to check it too, frowning.

“Isn't this the time pocket data you've been collecting? I feel like I've seen this chart before,” Manjoume said.

“Close, but not quite,” said Asuka. “Take a look at this reading here. It's off from the previous energy spikes that we've associated with history alterations.”

Manjoume narrowed his eyes, but it was Shou who spoke up first.

“There's a repetition here,” he said. “Wow! It's like a connecting loop to the previous information…”

He fumbled with his glasses, pushing them up on his nose.

“Exactly,” Asuka said. “I picked it up a few weeks ago. It's similar to the other time holes that we've recorded, but different.”

“And that means…?”

“I think this must be the one that Judai is using.”

Manjoume nodded slowly.

“Makes sense…doubt he'd get any access to Yliaster technology, and knowing him, he can probably bend time himself, right?”

Asuka laughed softly.

“We'll probably never know what he can do—I doubt he even knows most of the time.”

Shou's eyes softened a bit and he leaned back in his chair.

“Has it really been thirty years?” he muttered under his breath.

They all fell silent for a moment. Right. Sometimes, in the commotion of it all, it was easy to forget that it had been that long since any of them had seen their old friend.

“You're sure that he's back,” Manjoume said, glancing at Asuka.

“Almost positive,” Asuka said. “There's no other way Aki-san would have known that name. There are little to no records of Judai anymore. Even most of his school files are hard to find, and Aki isn't the type to go snooping into random files from thirty years ago with no reason—no, I think she's met him personally.”

Manjoume huffed, and nodded. It was good enough for him.

“We just have to find him, and see how much he knows,” he said, leaning his head back. “Man. Thirty years. A lot has happened.”

“Mm-hm…” said Shou, glancing out over the crowd. “I can't remember the last time we had a break.”

“Speaking of which, have you heard anything from Fujiwara in a while?” Manjoume asked Asuka.

She shook her head.

“It's been almost five months, I'm starting to get worried,” she said, glancing down at the race track. The teams were getting ready to go. “I keep calling him, but his phone's been disconnected. The last person that saw him was nii-san and he has no idea what could have happened.”

Manjoume almost growled under his breath.

“We know what must have happened,” he said.

“Don't go there,” Shou said.

“There's no point in hiding it. We all know the risks we take in doing this. We're not just running the risk of dying—Yliaster could make it so we were never born at any time.”

“We've already determined that's impossible,” Asuka pointed out. “None of the time holes—well aside from this one, which we assume is Judai’s, and not Yliaster’s—have gone further back than eighteen years ago. In fact, all of the furthest time holes gather at near the same date, so it's probable that none of them can go back farther than that due to—”

“Please save the science for when my brain doesn't hurt,” Manjoume groaned.

“Doesn't it always hurt?” muttered Shou.

Manjoume elbowed him in the stomach and Shou swatted at him.

There was a roar of engines that broke off any other conversation they might have. The familiar face of the announcer with the long pompadour appeared on the big screen.

“Are you all ready for another heart-pounding duel?” the announcer shouted into his microphone.

The crowd screamed in reply.

“Then let's introduce the day's first duelists! Coming on now, Team Catastrophe! Already notorious for their victory against Team Unicorn, which ended with two crashes!”

There was a chorus of boos mixed in with the cheers as the rough looking men with gleaming markers appeared, and Asuka winced.

“That was brutal,” Manjoume muttered. “Those guys don't give two shits about anyone, do they?”

“And coming on after them, one of the fan favorites this year, Team 5D's!”

The familiar face of Fortune Cup winner Yusei appeared on the screen, and Asuka glanced up for a moment. Aki's face was also still up there—they had probably chosen not to remove it, since she was still a member even though she wasn't dueling.

“The first wheelers are getting into position! Coming on first, we have Hermann of Team Catastrophe, and Izayoi Aki of Team 5D's!”

“What?” Asuka found herself saying.

Manjoume half rose from his seat to get a better view, and Shou's glasses slipped down his face with his jerk of surprise.

“I thought you said she was unconscious,” Manjoume said.

“She—she is,” Asuka said, standing up herself to stare down at the track. “But I—”

There was no mistaking it—that was Aki on that motorcycle, revving up the D-Wheeler's engines and checking the screen. But—but that was impossible! Asuka had just come from the hospital after checking on the girl again on the way here—

Aki seemed to glance upwards toward the cheering crowds as she slipped on her helmet. She fumbled with the fastenings for a moment, and then placed her hands on the handlebars, almost gingerly. Asuka frowned. She seemed nervous. Well, she had reason to be, after that crash, but there was something about the way that she was twiddling nervously against the handles…

The roar of the crowd rippled into a wave of noise as the timer started to count down. Aki glanced up again at the increased sound.

And then, as if almost unconsciously, she lifted two fingers to her head and then tipped them towards the crowd as though in a brief salute.

Asuka choked on her breath. Shou gasped, and Manjoume literally fell back into his seat.

“'Gotcha',” Shou mumbled to himself.

“That's—” started Manjoume.

“Judai,” Asuka whispered, feeling tears prick into her eyes. “Oh, Judai.”

The timer blared.

And the D-Wheels exploded from the gate.

 


	14. Ursa Major

The D-Wheels exploded past the starting line.

Immediately, Judai's stomach felt like it dropped out and fell behind on the track. His throat was tight and he couldn't breathe for the wind screaming past him and—oh _shit_ , this was _fast_ , but he couldn't slow down, couldn't slow down or he wouldn't just fall behind, he would make things look suspicious because Aki was a good D-Wheeler and he had to fake her level of talent—

He swore as he briefly lost control of the D-Wheel, feeling the front wheel spin out when he tried to angle himself out of the way of the other wheeler. Luckily, Hermann of Team Catastrophe was far too interested in getting the first turn to be paying attention to Judai. He outstripped Judai easily and rounded the first turn. Judai swore again. He accelerated—already he was a good ten lengths behind!

The roar of the crowd was only a dull murmur to the wind and blood pounding in his ears. Just—just focus on the cards, Judai, focus on the cards. Not on the hum of the wheels on the concrete or the fact that you could tumble face forward over the handlebars at any given second—right, no, stop thinking that right now. Geez, whatever happened to the good old days of dueling while standing firmly on the ground??

Judai shook his head for a moment, trying to clear it. Then he carefully removed one hand from the handlebars—his heart fluttering as he did so—and drew his first five cards. He slid them into place at his side and made a quick once over of his options. He bit his lip, trying to process the strategies while he also focused on driving which was _not fun_.

This was Aki's deck, for one thing, something that he was one hundred percent not prepared to use. He had had only a few moments to look over the deck before he was forced onto the track.

“ _Judai, are you doing all right? Judai!”_

Judai snapped out of it, realizing that Yusei had probably been trying to talk to him for several moments.

“Sorry, yeah, I'm fine,” he spoke into the headset. “Just—just getting my bearings.”

“ _You can do this, Judai, you only have to take the first duelist and then you can switch out, okay? There's no rule against switching out.”_

“Right, right, I'm fine, I promise,” said Judai. Dammit, now he had gone and worried Yusei—he could hear the faint tremor of uncertainty in the other boy's voice and knew that he was still worried about this plan in the first place. Geez, he had to get it together or he was going to keep making Yusei worry…

“My turn!” the Catastrophe duelist shouted. “I summon Hook the Hidden Knight in attack mode!”

Judai's stomach dropped again. Already??

The air glowed as the monster stepped out into life. A cape fluttered around it as it was drawn alongside the motorcycle, clad in dark armor, darkness swirling behind its face plate. It looked like an ordinary hologram to Judai—but with Yubel temporarily separated from him, her card left behind to care for Aki, Judai didn't have access to his sight at _all_. Could they have possibly been mistaken? It seemed too much to hope for.

“ _J-Judai-kun, that's it! That's the monster!”_ Carly's trembling voice squeaked into his ear. _“It's—oh, god, it's so dark. I've never seen anything that dark.”_

Judai swore. Perfect. Just his luck. He resituated his hands on the wheels and tried to pull himself forward a little more.

“Any other shadows?” he asked.

“ _None that I can see…they're all concentrated right there with the monster.”_

Well, at least he knew where to look for the shadows, then.

“I'll set one card and end my turn!” the duelist, Hermann shouted. His set card appeared and then faded from sight, and the turn counter turned to Judai.

“My turn!” Judai shouted. “Draw!”

His speed counter went up to one at the corner of his screen as he glanced at the card he had drawn. Okay. Good. He dropped the card into place and then reached for his other one, trying not to think too hard about not tipping the bike over.

“I'll summon Phoenixian Seed in attack mode!” he shouted—and then he just about clapped a hand over his mouth because that was _his_ voice coming out of his mouth, not Aki's. Had anyone noticed?? Hermann seemed to glanced at him for a moment, frowning, but otherwise, it looked like no one was paying enough attention to the tone of his voice—damn, he was bad at emulating sounds, though. He had to try harder.

The giant seed with an eye in its center appeared before him, and Judai felt the monster's sluggish uncertainty at being called.

 _They're so used to being called by Aki that I'm disorienting them,_ he thought. _Hey, it's okay. I'm here to help out—just please work with me for today, please?_

The seed seemed to eye him for a moment.

_Help me avenge Aki, will you?_

_That_ got its attention. He could feel the crackle of the monster's anger as it considered what had happened to its mistress. It blinked at him once, and he got the sense that it was agreeing. For a beat he thought he could hear it whispering at him: _“use my power and kill him.”_ He breathed out a sigh of relief, and then returned to his cards.

He licked his lips briefly and then attempted to wrap his shadow magic around his voice to make it sound at least a _little_ bit more like Aki's.

“I activate Phoenixian Seed's effect! I can tribute it to summon Phoenixian Cluster Amaryllis from my hand!”

 _The first order of business is to get rid of that shadow card_ , he thought.

He felt the Seed hum with delight in his brain as it split and grew into the form of Phoenixian Cluster Amaryllis, blossoms bobbing in the harsh wind. Twenty-two hundred attack points ought to do it.

“Amaryllis attacks Hook the Hidden Knight!”

The flower screeched as fire blossomed from the center of its flowers, blasting for the knight. Its attack was no match for the flower—maybe he could deal with this thing right away!

“Hook the Hidden Knight's effect activates!” said Hermann. “When it's targeted for an attack in attack mode, I can switch it and the attacking monster to defense mode—then deal eight hundred points of damage to you!”

Judai swore as Amaryllis' fire burned out and the flowers turned the dormant blue of defense mode. Hook the Hidden Knight retreated back to a kneeling position, arms crossed in front of it. Judai grit his teeth for the effect damage when—

“ _Judai-kun—JUDAI-KUN GO RIGHT GO RIGHT!”_

Judai did not hesitate—Carly's voice was frantic. He wrenched his D-Wheel to the right. The motion caused the whole bike to dip and nearly spin and he just about cried out.

“Ooh, and it looks like Izayoi Aki has hit a snag in the track!” the announcer shouted over the roaring din of the crowd. “She seems about to spin out!”

With an angry cry, Judai wrenched himself back onto balanced wheels, continuing forward at breakneck speeds. It took him a moment to clear his head enough to hear Yusei, Lua, Luka, and Carly all talking into his ear at once.

“ _Oh my god, are you okay? Breathe Judai, talk to us!”_

“ _Judai, Judai, Judai, the hook almost got your wheel, it almost got you, oh, god, Judai be careful, be careful, be careful!”_

Yusei's voice cut above them.

“ _Are you okay? Do you need to come out?”_

“Already?” Judai said. “Not a fricking chance. What happened?”

“ _It was in the shadow of your wheel—the monster's hook. It tried to hook itself into your wheel and lock it up.”_

Judai's eyes snapped up to the opposing monster. His gaze lingered on the nasty, curved hook on one hand that gleamed, deadly in the light.

“I can't switch out,” he said into his headset. “Not when I haven't even done a bit of damage to him.”

“ _Judai…”_

“I'll be fine. In fact, now that I know what they're doing, and how they're doing it…”

Judai felt his jaw clench, his hands tighten on the handlebars, his entire body crackle with energy and rage.

_This is what they did to Aki._

For a moment, she flashed across his mind, the way her head hit the concrete, the way she had rolled and come to a too-still stop.

_They hurt her like this, and they want to do it again, to everyone on the team._

Hermann had the misfortune of glancing back over his shoulder to see his opponent's reaction to having failed in the battle. That smug smile slipped when his eyes met Judai's, apparently seeing something there that he didn't want to see, just the edge of uncertainty darkening his eyes.

Judai sped his motorcycle up to come level with the other duelist.

“That card,” he snapped. “Where did you get it?”

“Huh?”

“Hook the Hidden Knight. Who gave you that card?”

“Why's it any of your business, missy? Ain't you supposed to be in the hospital anyway?”

“Where. Did. You. Get. That. Card.”

This time, Judai's words came out with a harsh, inhuman hiss—even though he and Yubel were technically far apart, they could not be truly separated, and the part of him that was a demon rose to the surface for a moment, his teeth lengthening briefly into fangs and his scales longing to burst through his skin.

Hermann seemed to pale a moment, but he shook it off.

“Beat me and I'll tell you,” he taunted, and then he pulled forward.

Judai's glare burned into the man's back.

 _Fine then,_ he thought. _We'll do it your way. You'll regret it._

He could feel his golden aura starting to leak through his eyes—it was strong enough now with his anger that he had to struggle to keep the disguise of Aki pulled around him.

_You want a war? You've got one now._

**. . .**

Aki was screaming.

Two nurses attempted to hold her down without hurting her, while another prepared a syringe of anesthetic. Her eyes were wide open but they saw nothing, she wasn't even fully conscious as her arms flailed up and down and her head attempted to jerk off of the pillow.

“She is going to hurt herself, aren't you ready with that yet?”

“We've already given her one dose; I don't want to overdose her!”

“It's not working; we need something stronger or she's going to hurt herself!”

“Good God, what's going _on_?”

Yubel, unseen, gripped at Aki's hands—but it was like Aki wasn't even half aware of her existence. Yubel couldn't find a single spark of her previous psychic abilities—what was going on? Where was Aki's power? What had—Aki, _please—_

Yubel drew her wings around Aki as though that would protect her somehow, even as the nurses flitted around and shouted at each other and argued about whether to give her another dose. Her jaw clenched, fangs bared.

“Aki,” she hissed. “Aki, can you hear me? You have to calm down. You _have_ to calm down.”

Aki did not respond, her hand flailing up again and out of the grip of the nurse, slapping the woman in the face. To her credit, the nurse barely even flinched, slipping her hands around Aki's head and trying to help her hold it still with a gentle grip.

Aki's scream cut off for a moment as she ran out of air, and she laid there for a moment, gasping.

“The dragon,” she whispered. “The dragon isn't finished yet.”

Yubel felt for a moment as though an icicle had stabbed her heart. The nurses didn't seem to notice the whisper—perhaps because it didn't even sound like Aki's own voice. It was a harsh, grating sound that seemed to rip out of her throat like she was spitting up rocks.

“Aki,” Yubel whispered again, desperation tightening her chest. “Aki. You have to stop. You have to wake up. It's just a dream.”

And then, for a brief moment, Aki's eyes met Yubel's full on, as though she could see them.

Yubel gasped.

There was a song playing in her head.

. . .

This was _bad._

Judai had control of his D-Wheel again, but for how long? How long until that damn monster went for him again?

Yusei could hardly think for the heartbeat pounding in his head. Judai. Judai. Judai.

“I'll set three cards and end my turn!” Judai shouted.

It was back to Hermann—back to that shadow creature that had thrown Crow from his D-Wheel, the one that had sent Aki into a coma, the one that seemed bent on ripping Judai apart.

“He's not ready for this, he's not ready for this,” Yusei kept muttering. “He can't focus on the duel and the riding at the same time—oh, god, why did I agree to this?”

Crow gripped Yusei's elbow tightly in his good hand, a silent plea for him to stop, but his eyes did not leave the duel. Carly was still babbling into the headset and telling Judai where the shadows were probably going to come from next. Yusei had already taken the headset from Luka because she seemed like she was about to have a panic attack and he didn't need her to hyperventilate.

_Just one duelist. Then I'm pulling him out of there. Just one duelist._

And then Luka screamed.

Yusei's eyes were unwillingly ripped from the duel.

“Lua! Lua, what's wrong? What's going on?”

Lua's small body sprawled across the pavement, his chair overturned. His eyes were wide and his mouth hung open in a silent scream as he suddenly started to convulse.

Jack was the first one at his side, pulling the boy into his arms and propping him up.

“Lua! Lua, talk to me, what happened?” he shouted.

Carly was just about in tears, babbling into her headset, Judai's voice was calling into his ear asking what was going on, Crow had bolted for the med staff shouting that they had someone having a seizure and Luka was on her knees half screaming Lua's name over and over as tears rolled out of her eyes.

Lua's eyes didn't blink, wide open as his arms continued to spasm. His mouth was moving but no sound was coming out.

“ _Yusei! Yusei, what's going on?”_

“I-It's Lua, he's having some kind of seizure—”

Judai swore.

“ _The shadows—it's the shadows, isn't it? I didn't think Fujiwara would—I need to!”_

Carly choked on her own air.

“It's not the shadows,” she breathed. “It's—oh, _god,_ he's so _bright—_ ”

The girl fumbled for her glasses as though they were shades, trying to block her eyes with the other hand.

“His aura is—it's so red, it's so bright, it's getting so strong, what—I don't even know what's happening to him—”

“ _Yusei? Carly! Calm down!”_

Yusei shook his head.

“We'll take care of it, Judai, please just—finish that one guy off! We'll take care of Lua!”

He was certain Judai was going to protest, but Hermann was taking his turn and a second knight—Dark the Hidden Knight, was appearing on the field, gleaming with black armor, and its effect was letting it attack Judai directly and he swore as his attention was drawn to defending himself.

Yusei only half registered Judai's defensive trap that reduced the damage to zero and let him draw another card, barely paid attention to the fact that Amaryllis was destroyed by Hook the Hidden Knight—Lua. He had to take care of Lua.

Yusei dropped his headset as he took a knee beside Jack. Jack's face was drawn, white, he looked like he himself was going to pass out in a minute.

“He's not responding, goddammit, Yusei, he's going to hurt himself—”

“Just calm down, help me get him into a safer position—Luka, please, sit down, it's going to be all right.”

Luka didn't pay attention, still hovering, wringing her hands together, tears rolling down her face as she whispered _“Lua, Lua, Lua.”_

Jack and Yusei helped angle Lua back down onto his back. Jack held Lua's head gently to prevent himself from hitting it against the pavement.

“Crow's coming with the medics, it's going to be okay, Luka, it's going to be okay,” Yusei said.

“What's going on? Is that boy all right?”

Yusei's eyes jerked up at the new voice. How did someone else get down into the pit—

The woman looked older, somewhere in her late forties, but she walked with a quick, assured step as she ran across and immediately dropped to her knees beside them.

“Who—” Yusei started.

“He's paralleling,” she said. “And he's doing it very dangerously; he's connecting too heavily. I'm going to need some space—I have to help him detach from whoever he's synched his soul to.”

“What are you—”

“Tenjoin Asuka, and I'm trying to help him, I'll explain later, keep your own eyes on the duel,” the woman said.

She yanked her blond hair from her face and quickly tied it back with a hair tie. Then she pushed Yusei very firmly out of her way and placed her hands on Lua's forehead, biting her lip as her forehead furrowed.

“God, he's in deep,” she muttered. “Who taught him to synch like this without teaching him how to detach?”

Her hands retreated into the breast pocket of her dress suit, digging around for a moment before dragging out a pair of small black buttons that she placed on either side of Lua's head.

“Hold him steady, this is probably going to jolt him a little and I don't want him to hit his head,” Asuka ordered Jack. It was a credit to her authoritative presence and the dire situation that Jack didn't even retort, he just nodded and did as she said.

It was then that Yusei remembered where he had heard the name Tenjoin Asuka.

 _She knows Judai,_ he thought, mouth opening in shock. _She knows Judai, and she's here—what—what is going on?_

And then another cry rose up from the dueling lane and Yusei was shooting to his feet again, heart hammering because—

_Judai._

. . .

Judai swore as Phoenixian Cluster Amaryllis disappeared in a screeching explosion.

_Dammit, dammit, DAMMIT—_

He swerved at Carly's cry of warning—Hook's attack had caused another strike at his wheels and he _felt_ the metal scratch against his bike for a brief moment before he jerked out of reach. His heart threatened to punch right out of his chest and he could hardly hear anything for the screaming in his head.

“When Phoenixian Cluster is destroyed by my opponent's monster, it deals eight hundred damage!” he shouted over the ringing in his own head.

 _Two can play at the burn game_ , he thought darkly.

Hermann half growled at his life points going down, but there was nothing he could do to stop it, so he ended his turn.

Judai glanced briefly at his hand—he had activated Defense Draw last turn and the new card, Witch of the Black Rose, looked like it could help him pull through this.

“My turn!”

He drew his next card—Echo, Spirit of the Forest—and slipped it into place, eyes flashing over the cards and then back to the road. Time to trust everything to his draw once again. He drew in a sharp breath.

“I normal summon tuner monster Witch of the Black Rose!”

The small witch in purple bounced onto the field, alien eyes gleaming at the pair of knights on the other side.

“When Witch of the Black Rose is summoned, I draw one card from my deck—if it's not a monster, I send it to the Graveyard and destroy this card!”

 _I need two monsters to destroy Hook the Hidden Knight,_ he thought. _Come on, come on_ …

He sent his silent plea to Aki's deck as his fingers fell onto the card. Arms tensing, he yanked the card from the top of the deck and—

_Yes!_

“I drew Rose Fairy!” he said. “When this card is added to my hand by an effect, I can special summon it!”

The little fairy giggled as she zoomed into view, hovering lightly at Judai's side.

“Witch of Black Rose attacks Hook the Hidden Knight!”

The tiny witch zipped forward, eyes narrow and staff clutched tightly.

“Hook's effect activates! It puts both monsters into defense mode and deals eight hundred damage!”

Carly screamed in his ear but Judai was already ready for this. He swerved to the right at her command. His life points dropped to 2400 but that was okay—Hook had zero defense. It was more than enough for Rose Fairy's six hundred attack!

“Rose Fairy attacks Hook the Hidden Knight!”

 _Time to get rid of you_ , he thought.

Rose Fairy's laugh turned dark as she shot forward, thorns sprouting from her hands.

“I activate Dark the Hidden Knight's effect!” Hermann said.

_What??_

“When a defense position monster I control is targeted for an attack; I can tribute it to switch that monster to attack mode!”

_No!_

Dark vanished, Hook rose back to his feet, it was too late to call off Rose Fairy now—

“And Hook's effect resolves!”

_Damn!_

Judai had half hoped he would let Rose Fairy destroy itself for the extra damage but it seemed like the guy was determined to cause him to crash instead of fighting fairly!

Hook and Rose Fairy both retreated, and Judai yanked himself to the side again from the hook—

Wrong direction.

Carly was screaming in his ear as Judai's back wheel locked. He felt his hands threatening to lift from the handlebars, sparks flying from the road as he skidded without wheels—the back wheel swung around to front and he was going backwards, the whole thing was going to tip and he was going to crash into the side as he leaned dangerously to the edge of the lanes—

“ _JUDAI!”_

Yusei's voice cut through Judai's head.

 _I can't make him worry,_ was the first automatic thought.

With a raged cry, Judai ripped himself back around to face front. That hook clung to his wheel, determined to cause him to flip and crash but _like hell_.

He grabbed for the shadow of his D-Wheel and turned it into a weapon. The hook jolted as the shadows flared up and strangled at it. For a moment, Judai thought it wasn't going to work and then—

His wheel was free and he shot forward, the sparks dying.

He couldn't think for the pounding in his ears. That had been—too close.

And that damn monster was still on the field! He had to do something to get rid of it or he was going to lose to the burn—or crash and _die_. He was only at 1600 life points, he could only take two more hits of this—and next turn, Hermann would have four speed counters, enough to use Speed World's effect to deal extra damage, reducing Judai's chances _further._

But he was out of attacks, there was nothing more he could do this turn. He was swiftly running out of options and—

“ _Judai, pull out. Judai, please, please listen to me, please come in, Jack can go out—Judai, are you listening?”_

Judai realized then that Yusei was talking to him. He swallowed through a dry throat.

“Y-Yusei,” he muttered. “M'okay. Promise.”

“ _You're not, you need to come in and tap out right now!”_

“Can't let you guys down.”

“ _You've done enough, please, Judai, please, just—I can't watch you get hurt. Please don't—don't make me watch you—”_

There was a melody in Yusei's voice. Or was that—was Judai imagining that? But Yusei had stopped talking, too, and Judai could only hear the crackle of static.

“ _I—Judai do you—”_

“I hear it,” Judai mumbled. “I definitely hear it.”

It was—it was quiet. Almost too far away but he could feel it. His eyes dropped to his field.

 _I have a tuner,_ he thought, staring at Witch of Black Rose. _Level four Witch, level three fairy, that's—that seven levels._

_Black Rose Dragon is level seven._

He had never Synchroed before. Could—could he do it? He remembered Black Rose's effect, he could use it to destroy Hook and start over—

He swallowed, trying to wet his lips again.

“I can't come in yet, Yusei. I have to do this.”

“ _Judai—”_

Judai shook his head and focused on the duel.

“I tune Rose Fairy with Witch of the Black Rose!” he shouted.

“ _Judai!”_

Witch of the Black Rose was already rising up, a song humming from deep within her as she glowed and faded to a series of green gates. Rose Fairy zipped through, transforming into stars.

Tuning. He could _feel_ it, feel the thrum of two separate souls synching together, two different melodies growing and swelling and becoming one with each other, and it was beautiful but terrifying and—

The music felt like it was ripping through him, his mouth was opening without his permission and the words were tumbling from his lips.

“Chilling flames engulf the world—pitch dark flower, bloom! Synchro Summon—Black Rose Dragon!”

It was a door. The song was a door and the words were the key. It was leading him somewhere, a pathway of melodies and rhythms that pointed towards—

The world went dark.

For a moment, Judai couldn't breathe. There was a darkness pressing in around him, sapping his breath and squeezing his lungs.

“ _ **Well—this is unexpected. You two seem to keep surprising me—at this point, I shouldn't be surprised at all.”**_

Judai tried to gasp for breath but there was no air, there was nothing here for him to breathe. That voice—he knew that voice, it was the one from his fragmented dreams, that dark ancient presence that had tightened around him.

“ _ **But your melody isn't quite perfect, hmmm? I'm not even certain how you managed to get this far with an incomplete melody—you and the Talon do not synchronize quite well. You'd be better off sticking with the Head.”**_

Judai was starting to black out, he could feel the lack of air starting to eat at his consciousness—

“ _ **But I suppose that's enough talk from me. Don't you have something to finish?”**_

The world came back and Judai gasped for desperately needed breath. The crowd's roar sounded so much louder all of a sudden and for a moment, his D-Wheel faltered.

“ _Judai!”_

Judai snapped back to himself at Yusei's voice, and pulled the D-Wheel back into line. Still dizzy, he glanced at his field—there was the Black Rose Dragon.

He could see its petals rustle, taste the scent of its bloodlust as it turned one harsh eye towards its opponent. More than any of the other monsters, Judai could feel _Aki_ in this creature, feel her strength and her potential for rage and her desire to protect steaming off of the great dragon like a cloud. It wanted to _destroy_ the thing that had harmed its mistress.

 _Then let's destroy it_ , Judai thought.

“When Black Rose is Synchro Summoned, I can destroy all cards on the field! _Black Rose Gale!_ ”

Black Rose lifted its head and screeched. The petals came in a storm, swirling like a horrible tornado through the field.

 _Die_ , Judai thought at Hook the Hidden Knight.

“I activate the trap card Destruction Jammer!” said Hermann. “I negate a card that would destroy monsters and destroy that card!”

 _Oh, god, no_ , Judai thought, a chill running through him.

The petal storm vanished and Black Rose screamed—and shattered.

“Black Rose!”

He felt something rip through his heart and he almost threw up then. Dammit, dammit, dammit, he had miscalculated and—

He had to defend himself, that was all he had left.

“I activate Call of the Haunted to bring back Black Rose in defense mode!” he shouted. “Then I banish Phoenixian Seed in my Graveyard to special summon Phoenixian Cluster Amaryllis in defense mode!”

Something of the hole that had been ripped in him from Black Rose's destruction filled in as the dragon returned. He breathed out—at the very least, he could increase his defenses.

“I end my turn!”

But he was close—too close—to losing. And that he realized as Hermann drew his next card and smirked. Ice clutched Judai's heart.

“I normal summon another Dark the Hidden Knight!”

_Damn!_

That horrid second knight appeared on the field, sharpening its blades.

“Then I switch Hook the Hidden Knight to attack mode!”

Judai's chest clenched as the monster returned to an offensive position—that hook seemed so much shinier than ever, and it drew his eye like a one might stare at a car crash. He was this close to dying and he could _feel_ it.

“Next, I'll activate the effect of Speed World 2!”

Judai swore. Reveal one Speed Spell and deal eight hundred damage—he would only have eight hundred life points left! One swing at Hook would end him!

The beam of light struck through him and he just about screamed.

His head slumped over his dash for a moment, panting for breath.

“I—I activate the effect of a monster from my hand!” he said. “When I take damage from an effect, I can special summon Echo, Spirit of the Forest!”

The new tree monster appeared with a soft sigh, hovering in front of Judai as though to protect him.

“Futile struggling,” Hermann sneered. “I'll end my turn!”

_Bastard…he wants me to swing at Hook and lose that way._

Judai swallowed—his throat was so dry.

“ _Judai, please—please, talk to me.”_

Judai coughed once.

“I'm okay, Yusei, I promise,” he said. “I—I'm gonna beat him. I'm gonna do it.”

Yusei hesitated.

“ _Okay. Okay, I won't ask you to come back in. But—but Judai. You have to be careful.”_

Judai reached for his next card.

“Don't worry,” he said, drawing, and looking at his card. “This is the last turn.”

In his fingers was Elemental Hero Neos.

And suddenly, like a light bulb going off in his head, he knew exactly what he was able to do.

**. . .**

Yusei watched Judai zip past the pit again, barely able to breathe. The melody continued to play, haphazard and so faint that he could be imagining it, at the back of his head. It was different than last time—it was like there was more than one track, and they weren't playing at the same speed.

_Judai…Judai…_

Lua had calmed down. He still wasn't responding to them but he was breathing easier and he seemed to be able to keep eye contact, he seemed aware of where he was. Bruno was holding Luka as she continued to cry, and Asuka continued to mutter and dial numbers on a small control pad.

“ _I tribute Echo and Amaryllis to summon Elemental Hero Neos!”_

Yusei's breath caught. Judai's monster—not Aki's. Of course he had put his ace into the deck—at the very least for luck. But for him to use that monster here, in this place…what was he planning?

Judai's ace appeared in a rush of light.

“Contact Fusion! Black Rose and Neos, come together!”

Yusei breathed out a slow, awed breath. Even Asuka and Jack looked up from Lua for a moment to watch what was about to happen.

“Rose wings and flaming heart, step through the veil in a storm of petals! Come forth, _Elemental Hero Rose Neos!_ ”

A storm of rose petals washed over the scene, blinding Judai from view for a brief moment. When it cleared, Neos had _changed_.

The bright, petal coated wings of Black Rose dragon sprouted from its back. Long rose petal antennae spiral back from its head, and more petals draped its suddenly much slimmer frame like a beautiful armor. Yusei could barely breathe in the presence of this being.

 _Aki_ , he thought briefly, almost seeing her face superimposed on the being for a moment. _Your will is coming through to us._

Judai threw his hand forward, and for a moment, his disguise as Aki slipped, and Yusei could see through to the boy underneath.

“Rose Neos activates its effect! Once per turn, I can banish any number of Plant type monsters from my Graveyard and destroy cards equal to the number of cards destroyed!”

Rose Neos lifted its head, and strange, haunting cry lilted from somewhere deep within it. Before it, two ghostly images of Rose Fairy and Phoenixian Cluster Amaryllis appeared. They faded into giant roses, and the thorns stabbed downwards from the blossom, striking Hook the Hidden Knight and Dark the Hidden Knight both through the heart.

They let out a twin, bloodcurdling screech before vanishing.

“And for each card destroyed, Rose Neos gains five hundred attack points!”

“That puts it to…” Bruno started.

“Thirty-five hundred,” said Yusei. “Not enough to take him out—”

“This card is considered a Plant type, so I can equip it with Thorn of Malice, driving its attack points up another six hundred!”

Forty-one hundred attack points. More than Hermann's four thousand life points.

 _His field is empty,_ Yusei thought.

“One turn kill,” Crow breathed.

Judai's hand thrust forward.

“Go, Rose Neos! Wrath of Gale!”

Rose Neos let out its eerie cry—and then the thorns sprouted from its back and exploded forward, stabbing right through the bike and just about sending its rider flying. Hermann let out a half scream as his life points dropped to zero.

“He won,” Yusei said. “Oh, thank god, he won.”

“I knew he could do it,” Asuka said, nodding to herself.

That was when Yusei saw Judai's D-Wheel wobble. Yusei yanked the headset to his mouth.

“Judai! Judai, are you okay?”

“ _I…yeah, feeling kinda dizzy though…”_

“I'm pulling you out—don't even think about arguing!”

“ _If you say so, boss,”_ Judai said, obviously trying to joke but his voice wavering with fatigue.

Yusei whipped around to Jack.

“Jack, you're up, let's go!”

Jack nodded, racing for his D-Wheel and leaving the now peacefully sleeping Lua to Asuka's care. Yusei paused only briefly to make sure the situation was under control here, making sure Bruno was taking care of Luka and Lua was all right—and then he couldn't hold himself back, he had to bolt for the pit line.

Judai came in slowly, carefully, wobbling on his D-Wheel. His disguise as Aki had completely faded by now, and only the helmet was preventing everyone from knowing who he really was.

“S-sorry to leave you with an empty field,” he mumbled at Jack as he fumbled for the shoulder patch. “Rose Neos got shuffled back into the extra deck at the end phase.”

“Hmph! As if I needed any help from you!” Jack said, snatching the offered patch. But then he paused, and a brief smile twitched the sides of his mouth. He sent Judai a nod. “But good work getting rid of one useless duelist.”

And then he was roaring out into the arena to meet the next wheeler. Yusei slid his arm under Judai's shoulder, helping him off the bike. Judai practically fell against him. His face was pale and his knees bowed inward. Yusei propped him against the bike for a moment and helped him remove the helmet, and then pulled his arm over his shoulders again.

“Lua,” he mumbled. “Is Lua all right?”

“He's okay. Don't worry. You need to rest.”

“Gotta see what happened to him…I can rest later…damn that—that monster made me…really tired.”

“Someone's already taking care of him, please, Judai, you just have to sit down…”

Yusei supported Judai towards one of the chairs and Judai's brow crinkled.

“Someone…?”

His eyes flitted across to see Lua—and immediately he froze.

Hazel eyes met brown, Judai's mouth dropped open.

Asuka put one hand to her mouth. Her eyes shone briefly with tears, but she blinked them away.

“Judai,” she said. “Oh god, Judai.”

“Asuka…?” he said. “What are you…?”

He swayed dangerously and Yusei caught him by the waist.

“Sit down,” he said firmly, guiding him into a chair.

Judai took a second to close his eyes. He just breathed for a few seconds, while Asuka clearly tried not to talk, her hands knotting and unknotting into her skirt as she chewed on her lip.

“Okay,” Judai said finally. “Lua—is Lua okay?”

“He's fine—his soul was reacting to someone else's soul distress, so I had to try and disconnect him,” Asuka said.

Judai's eyes opened and he stared at her.

“You can—you can do that?”

“Well, I had to learn how,” she said, eyes dropping down. “Since you were…gone. I developed these soul resonators; they jolt the frequency of a soul so that a matched frequency detaches.”

She held out the small black buttons that she had been using earlier. Judai just stared at them and then his eyes raised to meet hers. Yusei glanced in between them for a moment, trying to read something in the gaze they exchanged. Who exactly…was this Asuka? He knew that she was someone Judai had known. A friend from his days at the Academy…and now, thirty years older than he was.

“We have a _lot_ of catching up to do,” Judai said finally.

“Don't we ever,” she agreed.

“Should we start with what you're doing over here?”

“I'm Aki's teacher—I visited her and she said your name in her sleep, so I figured that following Team 5D's would be the best place to check for you.”

“Fair enough. But what exactly are you _doing_ here? I mean—I disappeared for you, I guess. What happened after that?”

She shook her head.

“Far too much—this is going to take a while.”

She frowned, eyes dropping to the ground for a moment.

“But the most important part is probably the fact that we're here to fight Yliaster,” she said. “It's what we've been doing for almost eighteen years.”

“Yliaster?” said Judai.

Yusei's heart skipped a beat.

“You're fighting against them too?” he said.

Asuka glanced at him, eyes blinking with surprise.

“You know about Yliaster?”

“Who the hell is Yliaster?” said Judai. “Is anyone going to explain that? Wait—is Fujiwara working with these guys? Are they the ones trying to kill Team 5D's?”

“What? Why would Fujiwara be—Fujiwara was working with us _against_ Yliaster! Why would he attack the team that has his kids on it?”

“You _knew_ that Lua and Luka were his kids?” said Yusei.

“Well, I didn't know they were home alone, their mother was supposed to be with them—Fujiwara disappeared about four months back—”

“Fujiwara has just about killed half the team already, so if he was working with you guys, why is he flipping out again—” said Judai.

Smoke and fire exploded from the dueling lane. All heads snapped towards the rising column of smoke and sparks—

“ _Jack—_ ” Yusei started.

But then the white blur of Wheel of Fortune exploded from the smoke, flying into the air. Jack's bike hit the ground and spun, but Jack wrenched his bike expertly into gear and skidded to a perfect stop. The other Catastrophe duelist was sprawled across Jack—what had they missed?

“Oooh, and Team Catastrophe's second wheeler has crashed—but a perfect save by Jack Atlas prevented the duelist from harm! Still, since the second wheeler can't get back to pass the baton, the win goes to Team 5D's!”

Jack hmped to himself as the duelist he had just saved scrambled to his feet and bolted for his comrades.

“ _A true duelist doesn't rely on such cheap tactics,”_ came his voice through the headset.

Yusei let out a breath that came like a laugh.

“We won,” he said.

“We won,” Judai said again, his eyes bright with an almost hysterical relief. “We won, we won, we won.”

Yusei could not stop himself—he practically threw his arms around Judai, laughing out loud. It was over. The second duel was over and no one had gotten hurt, everyone was okay—

Judai flung his arms around Yusei's waist and hugged him right back, both of them just sitting there laughing. Carly removed her headset and slumped against the control panel. Luka pressed her face into Bruno's chest and sobbed with relief, as the still dumbstruck Bruno patted her head automatically.

Lua stirred on the ground, blinking.

“When did I lay down?” he groaned. “Luka…? Were you crying? Did we win?”

“We did, we won,” said Crow, grabbing him by the shoulder as the boy sat up. Crow's smile was so wide that it was a wonder his face didn't split open. “We won, by god, we won!”

Yusei realized then that he had been holding Judai for a really long time—probably longer than was necessary. He drew back, his hands lingered on Judai's shoulders.

“Are you okay?” he said.

“I feel fantastic,” said Judai, his own hands still gripping Yusei's arms. “ _We did it_.”

He blinked, dizziness passing over his face again.

“But don't let me do a riding duel again. I think—I think it does something to me. Something weird.”

“You are hereby banned from acceleration duels, then,” Yusei said with an unbidden laugh.

Judai swallowed, closing his eyes against the next wave of dizziness.

“Okay then,” he said. “I guess we have the time to talk about what's going on, then, right, Asuka?”

“Finally,” she said, nodding with relief. “We can—”

“ _Asuka!”_

All heads snapped upward at the shout, frantic and cracking with nerves.

“ _Manjoume_?” Judai said with disbelief.

Yusei's eyes followed Judai's gaze to the tall, dark haired man that had run up to the railing overlooking the pit from the stands. His dark eyes were wide and he pointed up out of the stadium.

“Asuka, it's bad, there's _hundreds_ of them, they're all over the city—”

“Jun, calm down, what's all over the city??”

“Those robot things—the ones we ran into a few weeks ago, the duel robots, except they're _everywhere_ and they're attacking everyone!”

Yusei swore.

“It's the Ghosts,” he said.

“You told me about those!” said Judai. “We have to stop them!”

“They're probably collecting Duel Energy, but for what?” Asuka said, eyes wide. “No, never mind we can figure that out later—”

She swallowed and then met Judai's eyes.

“I have to go fight, we can talk later.”

“I'm coming too,” said Judai, struggling to stand up.

“No way,” said Yusei, pushing him back down.

“I can't sit here and watch you guys fight alone!”

“You're banned from acceleration duels, remember?” said Yusei.

Judai met Yusei's eyes with a blank fury.

“Then put me on the back of _your_ motorcycle, I am _not_ sitting this out—I'll heal quickly, I'll be fine in a few minutes, just don't you dare even think about leaving me behind!”

Yusei almost growled under his breath—but he knew better than to argue. They _needed_ Judai's power.

“Okay, everyone, let's go,” he said. “Crow, I know I can't convince you to stay, so watch out for your damn shoulder, got it?”

Crow was already getting on his bike and only gave Yusei a passing salute.

Yusei bolted for his own bike and Jack, who had arrived in the middle of the conversation, was already blasting towards the open roads. Judai slipped onto the bike behind Yusei and his arms tightened around Yusei's waist.

Yusei swallowed, feeling a little dizzy himself.

Was there going to be no end to this?

. . .

Izayoi Aki, who was supposed to be under three doses of sedative, shot straight up in bed. The motion caused Yubel to jump and hiss, wings flaring.

But Aki didn't look at her, didn't look at anything. She just started to climb out of bed, her legs shaking and dropping her to the floor.

“Aki, stop,” Yubel said. “Aki!”

Aki's arms shook, but that didn't stop her from pushing herself to her feet, pulling herself steady against the bed.

“The dragon,” she hissed. “I have—have to tell them about the dragon. The Heart wasn't able to tell them—I couldn't reach the Heart—I have to tell them about the dragon.”

Her eyes were wide, so wide that they seemed more whites than iris. Yubel flared her wings again and attempted to grab hold of Aki, but her hand phased through. Damn! She was too far away from Judai to do anything—all she could do was stand here. At least her card was tucked into Aki's pocket so she could follow the girl but beyond that—

Aki stumbled for the door. Her hand fumbled with the knob for a moment as though she had forgotten how to turn it. Finally, though, the door gave way to her and she pulled it open with the obvious intent of stumbling through—

Except there was someone standing there already.

Pure black eyes considered the girl for a moment, unblinking as she stared back at him.

“I can't let you do that,” said Fujiwara Yusuke.

 


	15. Crux

They skidded to a stop outside the stadium. Judai was going to ask why, but Yusei was already vaulting off the bike and running towards the tall form of Ushio and the woman beside him.

“Ushio! Mikage!” Yusei called.

Judai scrambled off and jogged after him. Jack and Crow stopped too, but they waited on their bikes. Bruno, Carly, Lua, and Luka jogged out behind them.

The woman, Mikage, looked up first. She looked pale, her hands shaking.

“Oh, thank god,” she muttered. “Do you boys know what's going on?”

“We were hoping you could help explain the situation,” Yusei said.

“The whole city's been turned into Battle Royale mode!” Ushio swore. “Someone's hacked everything!”

He had his head half in his car, swearing again as he reached for the police scanner. He hit a few keys while he continued to mutter. Judai just stood there, shifting from foot to foot from his nervous energy. He felt dizzy and sick—he had been away from Yubel for too long and that duel had really taken it out of him. He needed to get back to the hospital, check on Aki, get Yubel's card back, so that he wouldn't feel like he was going to throw up. His eyes flickered all around, taking in the parking lot, the multitude of Security officers waiting on their bikes for some kind of orders while Ushio continued to growl into his walkie-talkie at the control team for more information.

He realized after too many beats that Mikage was staring curiously at him.

“Hang on,” she said slowly, brow furrowing. “Aren't you—I could have sworn Aki was here, but you're the only one in a red riding suit…”

“Long story,” Judai mumbled. “Tell you about it later.”

Yusei swore. Judai jumped at the sound, rushing forward.

“What? What?”

“It's Ghost,” Yusei said. He swore again. “That robot thing I told you about—there are _hundreds_ of them!”

“More fucking Ghosts?” Jack said.

“How many are we talking?” asked Crow.

“A shit ton,” Ushio said.

Crow rolled his eyes but he didn't ask again. Judai stood on his tiptoes to look over Ushio's shoulder and see the screen. His heart dropped into his stomach. There were so many plumes of smoke, everywhere. It was a disaster. How many people had crashed and were hurt already?

“What are they doing?” Judai asked.

“They're joining WRGP duels, targeting any duelists they can find,” said Ushio, his dark brows heavy and angry over his eyes. “There's at least twenty—no, twenty-five crashes already.”

“I thought they were after us,” Jack said.

“Their plan has obviously changed,” said Yusei. “ _Dammit_.”

Judai squared his shoulders.

“Yusei, we have to get out there.”

Yusei nodded.

“I know. We have to do what we can.”

There was a screech of tires behind them. The paranoid part of Judai panicked, thinking that it was some of those Ghosts coming after them. But as he whipped around, heart hammering, he was greeted with a far happier sight.

Asuka flipped her visor up, leaning back onto one foot as her white D-Wheel came to a stop. Behind her, Manjoume and Shou parked their own distinctive bikes—Manjoume's was, of course, a pure black, although it had some nasty looked blades attached to it in some reminiscent fashion of Armed Dragon. Shou's, on the other hand, looked a tad more like his Roid monsters, with a somewhat anthropomorphic face.

“So are we kicking some robot ass or what?” Manjoume asked.

“You guys do _riding duels_ now?” Judai said, in disbelief.

Asuka actually laughed.

“We have to change with the times, or the kids will pass us up,” she teased. “So. What's the plan?”

For a moment, Judai felt thrown off balance. She was asking _him_? After he had been gone all this time? All three of them, in fact, were looking at him expectantly. He looked from each pair of familiar eyes, one after the other, and found his heart sinking at how much older than him they were now. He felt—wrong. All of this was so wrong, he shouldn't be here like this. If he hadn't traveled through time for whatever reason, would he be over on that side, with that trio, checking to see what the commotion was about?

The second group of new D-Wheels distracted him from his thoughts, and he glanced over to see another white D-Wheeler and a black D-Wheeler skidding to a stop.

“Sherry! Mizoguchi!” Yusei said, as the woman on the white D-wheel removed her helmet, blond hair cascading over her shoulders.

“It's Yliaster,” she snapped without so much as a greeting. “You know it is, Yusei.”

“Do you guys…know each other?” Judai asked, looking between them.

“Long story,” said Yusei. “Time later.”

“R-Right.”

Yusei turned his attention to the people around him, as though he were doing a headcount. He probably was, Judai had been doing the same thing. How many did they have to work with? How many people could they mobilize? This was a war all of a sudden, and he didn't know what to do. He—he couldn't breathe. He didn't want to be in another war, oh, god, no, he couldn't handle another full out war—

It was Yusei that drew him out of the panic attack, with a firm hand on his elbow, grounding him in the now. For a moment, he just held Judai's eyes with his own, and then a faint smile turned his lips up.

“We can do this,” he murmured.

Judai swallowed and nodded. He certainly hoped so.

Yusei released his arm and turned his attention to the large group staring back at him.

“We have to get out there,” he said. “There are people in danger, and we have to do something.”

“Do you plan on taking on all of them?” the older man asked—Mizoguchi, right? “There are hundreds. In this Battle Royal mode, the greatest numbers have the advantage.”

“And I know that,” said Yusei. “But I'm not planning on taking out every single one.”

“A controller,” Judai said suddenly. “Someone's got to be controlling them—they're robots, right?”

Yusei nodded—clearly that had been his train of thought.

“We split up, and we track it down,” Yusei said. “Teams of at _least_ three. Everyone has to be able to work together.”

He turned to Judai.

“You and I take my bike—I'm not letting you drive by yourself right now.”

Judai wasn't going to complain, so he nodded.

“Crow, Jack, you two will head south,” said Yusei.

“I'll go with them,” said Manjoume, pulling his motorcycle into gear.

“Only if you can keep up,” Jack sniffed at him.

Manjoume responded to that with a smirk and a roar of his bike, spinning his wheels as he took off. Jack swore and turned his own bike on. Crow sent Yusei a salute before wheeling off himself.

“Be careful of your shoulder!” Yusei shouted after him. He shook his head. “Sherry, Mizoguchi, will you come with us?”

Sherry nodded affirmatively and jammed her helmet back on her head.

“I'm coming with you,” said Asuka, looking pointedly at Judai. “You're not disappearing on me again, not until we figure out what's going on. Got it?”

Judai let out a nervous laugh, but he couldn't deny the relief he felt at having Asuka's strength coming alongside him again.

“What about us?” Lua piped up.

“R-right, what about us?” asked Carly.

“You guys stay here,” Yusei said. “None of you have bikes—I don't want your duel boards out there, either, you two.”

He glared pointedly at Lua and Luka.

“That's not fair!” Luka said, fists curling up. “We're Signers too!”

“And you're also children—I'm not sending you out into that battle zone. You guys stay with Bruno.”

“I'll stay here too!” Shou said. “Keep the perimeter of the stadium secure.”

Judai nodded at him, and his friend and former roommate sent him a thumb's up that caused a wave of nostalgia to wash over him. Judai sent him a tentative thumb's up back.

“Okay,” he said. “Ushio, Mikage, you have things here?”

Ushio nodded.

“We'll patch your bikes into the police feed, too,” Ushio said. “So that you can keep getting information as it becomes available.”

Yusei nodded gratefully, and then he went for his bike. Judai jogged after him, slipping on behind and tightening his grip around Yusei's chest.

“Got a Duel Disk on you?” Yusei asked.

“Of course,” Judai said, shaking his wrist. He had grabbed it before he had left the stadium; its weight always made him feel better.

“Good, then we can both duel if we have to,” said Yusei. “Ready?”

“Ready.”

Yusei threw the bike into gear, and then they were roaring off, Sherry, Asuka, and Mizoguchi close behind. Judai's jaw clenched.

Back to war he went.

. . .

Yubel _hissed_ , her wings flaring. Fujiwara's black eyes lifted to look straight at her—of course he could see her.

“So _you're_ here,” he said. “I didn't think Judai would leave her alone.”

He didn't make a move to walk through over the threshold, his eyes glancing at the door frame and then returning to where Aki just stood there, staring at him.

He sighed, a deep, rumbling sound.

“I don't want to do this,” he said. “I really, really don't want to hurt you, Izayoi-san.”

— _Then stay away from her—_ Yubel hissed. _—You can't come into this room, Judai has put up wards—_

“I know that much,” said Fujiwara. “But, Izayoi-san, if you persist in trying to leave, I'll have to stop you.”

Aki didn't seem able to speak. She stood perfectly still except for the faint tremble in her hands. Her mouth hung half open, eyes wide.

Fujiwara groaned, closing his eyes.

“If only you guys would just _stop_ , for once in your life, stop trying to save the word. Sometimes you just need to _stop_ , before you make things _worse._ ”

— _What are you talking about—_ Yubel said.

“I'm talking about you, her, Judai, me, _all_ of us damn stupid humans, trying to change something about the future. When will we realize that the future isn't something to play with? When will we get it?”

He swore, his fist slamming hard on the wall beside the door.

“I'm just trying to fix a mistake before it gets worse,” he said. “That's all I'm trying to do. But you guys won't even stop to look at the consequences of your actions.”

Yubel spat at him.

— _And why don't you just talk to Judai about this so-called 'mistake'? I'm sure he'd be more than happy to help you out if you weren't acting like a homicidal bastard—_

Fujiwara actually growled.

“I _tried_ that,” he said. “I tried that more than _once_. But Judai didn't exactly take kindly to the fact that Yusei has to die.”

Yubel sucked in a harsh breath.

— _And why… —_ she said. _—…is that—_

Fujiwara snorted.

“As though _you're_ going to understand? I've tried this route already. It doesn't work. I just have to stop things from happening before that gets worse.”

He looked down at Aki.

“And that's why I can't let you leave, Izayoi-san. I can't let you go out there and help them. You're better off unconscious in your hospital bed until all of this is over.”

Aki wasn't even looking at him anymore. Her eyes seemed to have rolled up towards the ceiling—had she even been listening to anything that was being said? Fujiwara frowned.

“Izayoi-san?”

Aki's mouth opened.

“ _Ae denei otu dufina ethu n'sudaragu dihean.”_

Fujiwara actually jerked back. He swore, his whole face contorting. Even Yubel felt herself reacting instinctively, curling in on herself and feeling a hot tremor rush through her body. She hissed. What—why did those words make her feel…small? It wasn't just the voice, with its ethereal, echoing quality, like it was coming down through a ray of light rather than through human lips. It was the words themselves, something about them felt—felt wrong, like they shouldn't be spoken out loud. She shuddered again.

“What the hell,” he said. “How—how do you know how to speak that language? That's impossible.”

Aki shook, now, her whole body trembling so badly it was a wonder she was still upright.

“ _Ae denei otu dufina ethu n'sudaragu dihean,”_ she repeated, more desperately. _“Ae denei otu llatei mohit tutha ae mak gydyan.”_

Fujiwara actually took a step back, clutching at his chest.

“You can't speak that,” he said. “You can't speak the words of creation. They'll kill you. Humans aren't made to speak that!”

But Aki didn't quite look so human all of a sudden. It was something about the way that her eyes were going a full white, the way that the red lines of her Signer mark were starting to spread from her arm and all down her body in swirling, glowing designs like lava pulsing beneath her skin.

“ _Aki?”_ Yubel said. _“Aki, please, what are you doing? What's wrong?”_

Aki gasped, shaking.

“ _Ae denei otu llatei,”_ she repeated. _“Ae denei otu llatei.”_

And then Fujiwara seemed to change. His face slackened and he straightened up. He stared at Aki for a moment. When he opened his mouth, shadows seemed to pour out of it with every word.

**“ _You're getting a little_** **too** **_desperate, old friend.”_ **

Aki shuddered, stepping back.

**“ _Humans aren't made to hold us for long. You've been trying to possess her for too long. You could kill her at this rate.”_**

“ _Ae ehavi otu oda negisometohik,”_ Aki said.

Fujiwara—or rather, the thing that was currently using Fujiwara's body—frowned.

**“ _You can't even speak normally anymore, can you?”_**

Aki's mouth opened, but no sound came out.

**“ _I told you, old friend. Your voice is becoming too quiet.”_**

Again, Aki's mouth moved, but there was no sound.

**“ _You have to stop this.”_**

A tear rolled down Aki's face.

**“ _Don't you trust me anymore?”_**

Aki just looked at him, with those full white eyes of hers, meeting the full black of Fujiwara's. The thing inside Fujiwara sighed.

**“ _My contractor will try to stop her, once I let go of him. He might even kill her._** **You** **_will_ ** **definitely** **_kill her if you insist on trying to use her to make yourself heard. Not that anyone will be able to understand you.”_ **

His eyes rose up to look somewhere down the hallway, but Yubel had a feeling he was looking at something else entirely.

“ _ **I have a feeling something will be different this time. Will you at least wait long enough to see what that something is?”**_

Aki—or rather, the thing in control of Aki—hesitated.

And then she opened her mouth, and her own voice tumbled out, quiet, hoarse, barely audible.

“ _Someone has to wake up my Heart. Do you think you're going to do that?”_

The being in Fujiwara sighed.

“ _ **Of course I don't think I'm going to do that.”**_

The white-eyed Aki stared at Fujiwara for a moment.

And then she let out a long, deep sigh. The sigh seemed far longer than was completely possible, and there was almost a wisp of faint fog that seemed to escape from her lips with the sound. When it had finished, Aki slumped to the ground, unconscious.

Fujiwara looked down at her for a moment. Then up at Yubel.

“ _ **You should try to find Judai. I have a feeling he will need you.”**_

And he closed the door. Leaving Yubel to hover there, uncertain of what had just happened.

**. . .**

Yusei whipped his D-Wheel around the corner, feeling Judai gasp behind him and his arms tighten around his waist. That friend of Judai's, Asuka, came to flank him on the left and Sherry took up the right, with Mizoguchi falling into formation behind. He could see the blinking signals on his screen that showed him where the Ghosts were—Ushio had patched his bike through to the Security frequency so now he could see all of what they were seeing.

“What do you think?” Yusei spoke into his headset, talking to Judai over the wind behind him. “Is it Fujiwara?”

“Doubt it—robots don't seem his style,” said Judai's voice in his ear. “And Asuka seems to think that Fujiwara and Yliaster shouldn't have anything to do with each other…”

Yusei hummed softly. He didn't know Asuka the way Judai did, but if Judai was so willing to accept her ideas on the subject, he would too. Judai's friend was his friend. As if she had heard—and she probably had, she had probably been able to tune into their headset frequency by now—Asuka pulled up closer.

“Fujiwara would never side with Yliaster,” she said, her voice echoing into Yusei's headset. “I don't know why he might be attacking you but…he and Yliaster have been at each other's throats from the very beginning—he's the one that brought us in on this fight in the first place.”

“One way or another, he's been attacking us,” said Yusei. “Over half my team has been targeted already and it's a wonder all of us are still in one piece.”

Asuka looked pale as she bit her lip.

“I—I don't know, but I can't believe—after all this time we've spent fighting together, why would he go rogue like this…it _must_ be some kind of trick. Yliaster must be trying to turn us against each other.”

Yusei felt the tightening of Judai's hands and thought that Judai must be thinking that he disagreed. Yusei had to agree with Judai. He didn't know this Fujiwara himself, but all of his actions thus far had seemed very calculated, and not at all targeted towards his former teammates—so it didn't seem likely that the aim was sow distrust between their team.

Sherry roared up closer to them, fiddling with her headset for a moment before joining the conversation.

“If you're fighting Yliaster,” she said, eyes flashing at Asuka, “how come I have never found you before?”

“Sherry LeBlanc, correct?” Asuka said.

Sherry blinked, clearly thrown off guard.

“We knew you were around—you're not exactly quiet when you hit the Yliaster-affiliated facilities that we've been monitoring,” Asuka said, smiling wryly. “But you move quickly. Very quickly. By the time we've figured out what place you've hit, you're already gone. The same reason Yliaster hasn't been able to find you is the reason we haven't been able to make contact.”

“And what exactly are you _trying_ to do, Asuka?” Judai asked.

Her lips tightened.

“We're trying to stop the end of the world,” she said.

Yusei shivered. He felt Judai's arms tighten around him slightly, automatically.

And on that horrible note, the conversation had to end because they were coming up on a pack of Ghosts surrounding a lone D-Wheeler.

“My turn! Draw!” one Ghost shouted. “Direct Attack to the player!”

The woman D-Wheeler flinched, trying to get out of the way of the attack. Yusei, however, was much quicker. He yanked cards off the top of his deck and drew exactly the one he needed.

“I discard Swift Scarecrow from my hand to negate the attack and end the battle phase!”

The attack swung wide, missing the woman completely. Her head jerked back towards them as Yusei and the others forced them in between the Ghosts and fanned out around her in a protective formation.

“How's your D-Wheel?” Asuka called.

“It's malfunctioning,” the woman called back, pointing to the smoke coming out the back. “I don't know how much longer I can do this!”

“Drop out, we'll handle it,” said Sherry.

The woman nodded and let herself fall back. Thankfully, the Ghosts seemed more interested in Yusei and his group, so no one followed her, letting her come safely to a stop.

“Let's take these fucks out,” said Judai.

“My thoughts exactly,” said Yusei, glancing at his cards. “Everyone, let's go! I summon Junk Synchron and use its effect to special summon Swift Scarecrow! Then I special summon Mirror Ladybug!”

 _Here we go_ , he thought.

“Both of my monsters tune with Junk Synchron! Come forth, Stardust—”

The song exploded in his head.

He heard Judai cry out and wondered if he was hearing it too—it was so _loud_ , it felt like it was going to explode out of his head, or at least render him deaf! It was so loud that his vision went black and he couldn't see where he was going, could barely register his hands on the bars of his D-Wheel. Was he going to crash? He couldn't crash, not now, he couldn't crash—

“Cyber Angel Dakini, direct attack!”

He snapped out of it, gasping for breath, eyes bulging. He became aware, suddenly, that Asuka was gripping his D-Wheel with one free hand, holding them steady and not letting them swerve. Her monster, a tall four-armed woman, stood protectively in front of them, beside Stardust Dragon. The dragon flew silently beside them, and yet…Yusei felt like it was looking at him, considering him. Wondering why he had blacked out for a moment.

“Are you two all right?” Asuka shouted over the wind. “You weren't responding!”

Yusei's head spun.

“J-Judai,” he mumbled.

“I'm here—I think,” Judai mumbled back into the headset. “W-what happened?”

“The two of you just—both went blank, you almost crashed!” said Asuka. “Are you okay?!”

Yusei managed to blink out of the haze of…whatever had just happened. He tightened his grip on the handlebars.

“Yeah,” he said. “Yeah, I think…I think I'm okay. Judai?”

“I'll live,” Judai groaned. “We're going to have to figure out what the fuck that is eventually.”

Yusei nodded.

But for now, there was a duel to be won, and a city to protect. He would just have to avoid Synchro Summoning for a while. That shouldn't be hard—he had Stardust on the field, and that was all he needed right now.

Judai fumbled for his own Duel Disk at his side, carefully extracting his arms from Yusei's waist.

“All right,” he said, and Yusei could hear the sudden smile in his voice. “Time to kick some robot ass.”

. . .

Carly hovered anxiously at the police scanner, driving Mikage to tap her heels in that way she only did when she was irritated with _Ushio_ , which meant she was very, _very_ irritated right now.

“Could you please just move so I can see?” Mikage said. “This isn't your job, you know.”

“I have to be able to see,” Carly mumbled. “I have to make sure everything's okay—that's _my_ job. My job is to look at things.”

Mikage let out a large breath that sounded like a growl.

“I'm worried about Jack too, you know!”

Carly shook her head.

“I-I know, but that's not why I have to—”

There! There was one of those Ghosts that they had been talking about! She had to see!

She let her glasses slip off of her nose and stared at the screen—and immediately screamed, jerking back and clapping her hands over her eyes. Mikage jumped. She automatically put her hands on Carly's shoulders, trying to stop her from falling.

“Oh my god, Carly, are you okay? What happened? What did you—oh god, is everyone okay?”

Carly shook in Mikage's arms, keeping her hands over her eyes for a moment.

“Bright,” she mumbled. “They're too bright. They're too—too _white_. It's blinding. It's not right, they're not supposed to be—what _are_ they?”

“Carly, you're not making any sense—Lua-kun, Luka-chan, could you please—”

Carly got her wind back. She fumbled for her glasses and put them back on before she got dizzy looking at Mikage's pastel green and blue aura swirling over her eyes. Mikage looked far more concerned than she had a moment ago, biting her lip and refused to let go of Carly's shoulders even when the girl managed to stand straight.

“Are you okay?” she said. “What happened? You've been acting so oddly lately! Ever since Jack got hurt during that duel…”

Lua and Luka finally ran over, Bruno on their heels. That other man, Shou, looked up from where he had been talking to Ushio.

“Is something wrong?” he called, jogging over.

“Carly, are you okay?” Luka asked.

“What did you see??” said Lua.

It took Carly a moment to get her voice back. She could still see the afterimage of that bright white silhouette, as though burned onto the backs of her eyeballs.

“The Ghosts,” she said. “They have these auras…they shouldn't have auras, they're robots, robots don't give off a signature…”

“What are you talking about, Carly?” Mikage asked.

Luka gripped Carly's hand, and Lua patted her awkwardly on the back as though to reassure her.

“Is it a shadow?” Bruno asked, eyes narrowing. “Do we need to tell the others?”

“No, it's…it's the opposite,” Carly mumbled. “They're _white_ , Bruno…they're _light_ , not shadows, but it's…it's _wrong_.”

Shou went pale. His eyes widened.

“Are you telling me you can see auras—like Judai?”

Carly nodded mutely. Her eyes wandered back to the screen inside of the police car, at the robots speeding along. They were too bright. She could tell, by looking at them, that just like some of the shadows she could see, they were wrong. They shouldn't exist. This was the kind of light that could hurt people, and badly.

_Jack._

Shou was running for his bike, probably to get his helmet so he could call the others and tell them what Carly had seen. Carly thought for a moment that maybe she should run back into the pit and grab her own headset so she could provide back up for them again. That was what she was supposed to do, right?

She glanced at the screen again. She could see Jack, now, pulling his Wheel of Fortune up alongside one of the Ghosts, with Crow and that other man Manjoume beside him. She dared to drop her glasses below her eyes again, just to see.

The light was blinding, so bright that she almost cried out again, but she stood her ground, glaring into that brilliant white for some sign, some idea of what they were and where they had come from or what she could expect from them. This was all she could do—she had to do _everything_ she could.

On screen, she could see Jack's aura flare, a brilliant red against the white, like blood as his Red Dragon Archfiend appeared. She breathed out—that dragon was more beautiful than ever now that she could see the red pulse of its soul gleaming inside of it, the same deep crimson of Jack's soul. He wasn't joking when he called it his own soul.

But then she saw something else. White. White like ice, creeping out from the wheels of the Ghosts. Like the shadows but—but more methodical, slower, creeping carefully inside of Jack's D-Wheel, and in fact all three of their D-Wheels, and settling, waiting—for what?

She had no idea but she felt ice clutch at her heart as she watched it spreading. She pushed her head into the police car so that she could fiddle with the screen buttons, changing the view until she could see both Jack's team and Yusei's team on a split screen. Was the same thing happening to Yusei and the others?

No, it wasn't—why? The light was trying to creep forward, she could see it, but something was blocking it from entering Yusei's D-Wheel, his team's D-Wheels.

 _Judai_ , she thought with a jerk _. His gold aura—it's more like darkness, and it's holding the light back. They can't be touched. He's like a shield to them._

But what about Jack's team?

Mikage gripped Carly's arm gently.

“Carly,” she said, sounding remarkably quiet and gentle. “You're just going to work yourself up, you need to step back—the others can handle this. We just have to believe in them.”

She did not want to see Jack on a hospital bed like that again. That light was as bad of news as the shadows had been.

She pulled herself out of the car with a jerk, causing Mikage to jerk back with surprise. Carly didn't acknowledge her—there wasn't time. She just bolted back towards the pit.

“Carly!” Mikage shouted.

“What the—where is she going?” shouted Ushio.

She heard the twins shouting too, Bruno, Shou, but there was no time. She had to go and she had to go now. Jack needed her. He might avoid her, he might hate her, he might not want to see her, but right now she had to help. She had to get there, she had to be a shield the way Judai was.

She made it to the pit. Aki's bike was still there, left after Judai had jumped onto Yusei's bike. She still remembered how to ride—who had taught her? No, no, that wasn't important right now. What was important was Jack. She swung her leg over it, fumbling in her pocket for her cards and jamming them into the slot. There was no time to get up and grab the helmet where it sat on the control board so she pealed out of the stadium without it, roaring past the twins, Bruno, Mikage, everyone.

“ _You used to hold the darkness too, didn't you?”_ Fujiwara had asked her.

She had, hadn't she? She couldn't remember it. Not well. But she knew one thing: she still had it.

She still had the darkness, the shadows. She could still see them clinging to her hands when she took off her glasses, still see them seething within her when she stared at herself in the mirror. What color had her soul been once? She didn't know. Maybe it had always been black.

But whatever the reason, she could use that now.

Jack needed her.

**. . .**

“Where the fuck is she going??”

Ushio reached into his car to grab his police walkie-talkie and started barking at someone on the other end. Luka felt like she was going to faint. Everyone was out there fighting, and Carly had just run off on Aki's bike after apparently having seen something in the auras of the others, and now she was out on the track doing who knows what—would she be okay? Luka knew Carly had fought against Jack when she was a Dark Signer, but without the power of the dark god, wouldn't she just be another ordinary duelist? Luka had seen Carly's cards before—the Fortune Fairies were cute, but they weren't exactly competitively sound, and even Carly had admitted that she just had them because she liked them, she hadn't built them for the purpose of dueling with them. She just liked the fortunes.

Bruno was already heading for his D-Wheel, but Shou grabbed his arm.

“You're not going to catch up to her like that,” Shou said.

“We can't just let her go out there alone!” Bruno said. “At the very least, we have to try to stop her.”

“I know that! But I told Judai I'd make sure you guys don't get hurt!”

Don't get hurt. That was what they said, all the time. They always, always said that—stay here, don't go anywhere, I don't want you to get hurt, this is for your own good, we'll be back soon, just wait for us—

 _You did it too_ , she thought at her father. _You did it to us too. You and mom did it to us and now you're fighting against us and I'm so tired of being left behind!!_

Her eyes snapped around to Lua, who was jumping from foot to foot, clearly uncertain of what he was supposed to be doing.

“Do you have your Duel Board with you?” she asked.

“Huh? Oh, of course! Wait, are you—”

“Let's go help,” she said. “We're a part of Team 5D's too, aren't we?”

Lua stared at her, wide eyed for a moment. And then a huge smile spread over his face.

“Hell yeah, let's go!” he said. “Come on!”

He grabbed his sister's hand and the pair of them bolted back for where they had left their Duel Boards. Luka shoved her feet into the straps and jammed her helmet onto her head. Lua was already plugging in his Duel Disk and revving his board up. It was the sound that jolted Shou and Bruno out of their argument. Shou swore but the twins were already speeding off down the track in the direction that Carly had gone.

“Are you sure we should go this way? What about Yusei and the others?” Lua called.

“I'm sure that Yusei and Judai will be fine if they're together!” Luka said over the wind. “But Carly obviously thought something was wrong with Jack and Crow! So we need to check on them first!”

Lua nodded and turned his head to face the road, eyes hardening with anticipating. Luka turned her own attention to the road ahead.

_I'm not getting left behind anymore…neither of us are. We're going to fight too._

There was a roaring hum behind them and she glanced over her shoulder to see Shou speeding along behind them, Bruno putting along on his slow bike somewhat behind. Shou pulled up in between the twins.

“What are you doing?” he said. “You guys have to stay where it's safe! I told Judai I'd watch over you!”

“I'm a Signer too!” Luka shouted, punching her arm with the mark in the air so that Shou could see it. “And Lua might as well be! I have to be out there to help my team!”

“Yeah! We're tired of being left behind—we can fight too!” Lua said.

Shou glanced between them, his gray eyes taking in each of them for a moment. And then he half smiled, quiet, exasperated.

“I suppose I can't argue with that,” he said, gripping his handlebars better. Fine then. Let's go!”

He pulled his bike into position on point, in between and ahead of them.

“We stick together, understand? That includes us trying to keep pace with Bruno.”

The twins nodded. They couldn't argue with that. Especially since Bruno didn't duel, and his bike was kind of slow. Luka pulled herself into a more reasonable pace until Bruno was in between them.

“You guys are so fast,” he muttered.

“Why don't you upgrade your bike to be faster??” Lua asked.

“Kids, Ghosts coming in from the lane to our left, they'll be flanking us in a minute!”

Luka went for her cards as the Battle Royal image flashed on her Disk's screen. _Here goes._

“I activate the card effect of the tuner monster Cockadoodledoo in my hand! When there are no monsters on the field, I can special summon it as a level 3 monster!”

In a flash of light, the fluffy chicken bounced onto the field, letting out a coo as it ruffled its feathers.

“Then I summon Sunlight Unicorn! During my main phase, I can reveal one card on top of my deck, and if it's an equip spell, I can add it to my hand!”

She flipped the top card up and Dragon Shield looked back at her.

“All right! Now that that's in my hand, I'm tuning—Cockadoodledoo tunes Sunlight Unicorn for level seven!”

The little rooster cooed again before fading into light and transforming into three green gates, which Sunlight Unicorn charged through to become a quartet of stars.

“The holy light of protection, shine now and become eternal life! Synchro Summon—a regal birth, Ancient Fairy Dragon!”

With a haunting cry, the dragon appeared, star light glimmering from its delicate butterfly's wings as the sinuous green being morphed into being.

“All right, Luka!!” Lua said, punching the air. “And in one turn!”

“I equip Ancient Fairy Dragon with my Dragon Shield! Now it can't be destroyed by battle or card effects!”

She tossed her bangs from her face and sent a large grin towards Lua.

“Your turn!” she shouted.

“All right! I'm gonna get mine out in one go too! Draw!”

Lua stared down at his cards. Luka bit her lip as she saw the barest twitch of his eye—Lua had gotten better at his poker face but she could tell he had drawn a bad hand. She felt ice grip her heart—this wasn't just a friendly duel. This was a dangerous game and if Lua got hurt…

This would be her fault—she had convinced him to go. Oh, please, Lua…

“I play Morphtronic Lantron in defense mode and two cards face down—turn end!”

She could see more than just disappointment in his eyes—he was downright frightened.

“I'm going!” Shou shouted. “Draw!”

Shou glanced only briefly at his cards.

“I activate Polymerization from my hand!”

Luka breathed out. A fusion duelist? Just like Judai!

“I fuse Truckroid, Expressroid, Drillroid, and Stealthroid from my hand to Fusion Summon Super Vehichroid—Stealth Union from my Extra Deck!”

There was a roar and a flash of light, and one of the biggest monsters Luka had ever seen lurched out onto the field. It had a plane for a back and drills for knees and it looked like it could crush her with a single finger. The being settled itself in front of Shou and the twins like a protective shield as the Ghosts finally fell into place ahead of them. Four of them—more than there were of them, but they couldn't be too tough, right?

“My turn, draw,” the first Ghost said. “I summon Ally of Justice Core Destroyer.”

A strange, almost insect like robot appeared, shiny and golden as it tilted its pointed head at them.

“Core Destroyer attacks Ancient Fairy Dragon.”

“What?” Luka said.

“But it's got less attack points!” Lua shouted. “Are you stupid?”

“When Core Destroyer battles a Light Type monster, the monster is destroyed at the start of the battle step.”

“Oh no, Luka!” Lua shouted.

“I activate the Trap Card Twinkle Wall! I negate the attack, but I take half of the attacking monster's attack as effect damage!”

She couldn't stop herself from screaming. The pain was _real!_ It ripped through her like fire and she wobbled on her Duel Board. Shou whipped his bike alongside her and grabbed her arm, letting her grip onto the bar of his bike for balance.

“Are you okay?”

“F-fine,” she said. “Ancient Fairy Dragon is okay, too.”

Shou nodded, looking pale. And then he seemed to realize something and his head jerked towards Lua. It hit Luke then, too, as she realized that Lua was alone on the other side of the track with only one defense position monster to defend himself—a monster with only two hundred defense points.

“Lua!” Luka screamed.

“My turn,” the next Ghost said. “I summon Ally of Justice Cyclone Creator. By its effect, I can return spell and trap cards on the field to the hand equal to the number of Tuners on the field.”

Lua's Lantron was a Tuner—so was the Cyclone Creator. Both of Lua's face down cards were blown back with a roar of wind and Lua threw his hands up to defend himself.

“Cyclone Creator destroys Lantron.”

Lua wobbled and almost crashed at the attack, his monster exploding. There were still two more Ghosts that could attack.

“I summon Ally of Justice Unknown Crusher,” Ghost said. “Then I activate the magic card, Limiter Removal—my machine type monsters double their attack.”

Shou swore—3200 attack points!!

“Unknown Crusher attacks directly.”

“LUA!” Luka screamed.

Lua tried to swerve out of the way but the blow struck right through his stomach, phasing like a hologram, but his eyes bulging as though he had actually been struck. Shou released Luka and dove towards Lua, who was swaying so badly that it looked as though he might crash.

Oh, god, the next Ghost was taking its turn and it was summoning another Unknown Crusher—that would take Lua out and they didn't have anything to protect him with!

“LUA!” she screamed again.

Shou was in grabbing distance of Lua, the next blow was hurtling for him, this was _it_ and it was Luka's _fault—_

And then, for a moment, Luka couldn't breathe. She couldn't see. Everything was just…white.

Until the red blossomed over her vision and she forgot everything.

**. . .**

Jack was having trouble breathing, but he wasn't entirely sure why.

“Red Dragon Archfiend, direct attack!”

Did anyone else hear the way that his throat tightened and how the air came out constricted? Or was he imagining things? Crow and that Manjoume seemed fine. Jack growled, blinking past the black spots on his vision as he picked up his speed, leaving behind the Ghost that he had just sent into a metallic heap on the ground. There were still so _many_. Where the hell would the controller of these things be hiding?

“Armed Dragon Level 7, demolish their metal asses!” Manjoume shouted, sending his huge bladed dragon into the fray.

“Black Winged Dragon, rip them to pieces!” shouted Crow.

They were making good time, at least. These Ghosts weren't putting up too much of a fight. They couldn't beat Archfiend's attack and if they didn't attack, their monsters were out for the count from Archfiend's effect.

Still…

Jack groaned slightly, shifting in his seat. He had taken a little bit of a beating from effect damage and the pain felt more real than anything. If they didn't find the controller soon, he might actually have to pull out from the pain—he would never say it out loud, though.

He wondered briefly how Crow's shoulder was doing. He really shouldn't be out here right now.

“Holding up?” Manjoume said over the headset.

“Worry about yourself,” Jack snapped back.

He heard Manjoume chuckle, the sound static in his ears.

“You're pretty much exactly how I imagined you—heard about your exploits as king. Always wanted to come down and duel you sometime but that Mr. Godwin was pretty difficult to work out a schedule with. Almost like he didn't want me to duel you.”

“Saving you the embarrassment, probably.”

This time Manjoume laughed, even as he sent his great dragon out to take down another Ghost.

“Man, you're good. After all this shit is over with, you're facing me, all right? We'll see who was really being saved from embarrassment.”

Jack had to smirk.

“It's a deal, then,” he said. “So don't you go and die on me today. I'll want to wipe that grin off your face myself.”

“Right back at you, Mr. King.”

“Are you guys done with your dick measuring?” Crow groaned into the headset. “We have a serious situation here.”

“Not _too_ serious,” said Manjoume. “I could probably handle these assholes with a wimpy Ojama Delta Hurricane.”

Jack chanced a glance at Crow. His face looked drawn and a bit pale.

 _He's in pain_ , Jack thought. _His shoulder's not good enough yet. We have to try to clear this out as quickly as possible and find the controller. Get this damn mess dealt with._

Jack grit his jaw as he returned his attention to the fight.

And then he froze.

_Fuck._

“I activate the magic card Dark Hole,” the Ghost said in its monotone, robotic voice.

Jack swore out loud as the vortex overtook them, ripping through their monsters and wiping them from the field.

_Archfiend!_

His dragon let out a loud roar before it succumbed to the storm and vanished.

Their fields were completely clear and there were at least ten Ghosts that could still attack. Fuck, fuck, fuck, what did he have, what could he use? He was having trouble breathing again, like there was a weight on his chest and a flutter in his heart. Was he about to have a heart attack? Impossible, that couldn't—ugh, but his throat was so tight and breathing was so _hard_ …

“Normal summon Ally of Justice Core Destroyer and direct attack,” Ghost said, flipping around to face Jack down.

He could survive the attack—he would hang on with a little less than a thousand life points, but he could hardly imagine taking the pain of a direct attack right now, not when his chest was so tight that he felt like he was in a vice and he couldn't breathe—

“Effect of Fortune Lady Light resolves! When it is removed from the field by a card effect, I can special summon a Fortune Lady from my deck!”

For a brief moment, the entire world slowed down and seemed to go black and white. Jack _recognized_ the voice and he _recognized_ the monster names but it was impossible and it couldn't be real and this must be a dream but—

Fortune Lady Dark appeared in front of him with a snarl and swing of her staff. The monsters struck each other and Dark won, shattering the monster with her glinting staff. Jack really couldn't breathe now, only that was more from the harsh memories of the last time he had seen his monster, the last time that he had fought against it, zooming in a field of purple fire and watching Carly snarl at him like that—

And then she appeared, her black hair whipping in the wind, not wearing a helmet like the idiot she was, piloting her D-Wheel in between Jack and the Ghosts. She thrust her hand out to her side.

“Dark's effect! When I destroy a monster by battle I can special summon a Fortune Lady from my Graveyard! Come out, Fortune Lady Water!”

The blue clad fairy appeared, wielding her glowing staff.

“Since I have a Fortune Lady on the field I can draw two cards by her effect! And it's still the battle phase so go, Fortune Lady Water, attack directly!”

A vortex of water exploded from the tip of the fairy's staff, slicing into the Ghost in front of them and taking its life points to zero.

Jack found his hands shaking, even as Crow let out a soft whoop. No, god, no. She couldn't still have those cards, could she? Was she—god, she couldn't have been possessed, would she have? No, no, no, not again, this was why he had tried to avoid her, so that she wouldn't remember, wouldn't be struck by those horrible memories of what had happened to her and what she had done, she was too kind, too happy, too—too perfect to have her thoughts marred by the guilt she would no doubt feel if she remembered what she had become.

She let up on her bike's speed—Aki's bike, he could see now—and came parallel with Jack. He was almost afraid to look at her, afraid that if he looked up he would see those black sclera staring back at him.

He looked.

Her eyes were normal, although…her glasses were gone, and it made her face look somehow odd. Her wide eyes met his, and he realized suddenly that she was panting for breath. That reminded him of his own tight chest except…except he didn't feel that anymore. He could breathe again, just fine.

“Carly!” he shouted, a mixture of anger and terror coursing through him as he drew up alongside her. “What are you doing here?”

“I had to come—I couldn't leave you guys here,” she said.

“Carly—”

“They're like shadows, only—only they're light, and they were suffocating all three of you. There needs to be some kind of darkness to keep them from getting too close—I had to come.”

Jack felt a tremor of fear go through him.

“Carly,” he whispered. A prayer. A plea. “You don't—you don't have any darkness in you.”

Carly just looked at him for a moment, and he wondered how she could see him, or where she was going, without her glasses.

“I do,” she said. “But that doesn't mean…it's bad.”

Her hands gripped the handlebars.

“I'm sorry,” she mumbled. “I'm sorry, I know you don't want to see me, I know that you'd rather I keep my distance and you probably hate me because I have this darkness in me and maybe that's why you stopped wanting to be around me, but I don't want you to die and I have to be here to help, so please just let me—”

He had a feeling that if they had been on solid ground he would not have been able to stop himself from grabbing her and pulling her lips to his right then and there. He longed for it—so _badly_ , just to feel her in his arms again and to take her against him and just feel her heartbeat and reassure himself that she was still there. He had wanted to do that for well on six months now. Ever since he had decided that it would be safer if he kept his distance from her. So that she wouldn't remember. God, it had been so hard, so, so, _so_ hard, and—

“Carly,” he said, cutting her off. “I don't hate you—god, I could never hate you.”

Carly blinked, staring at him. He groaned. Then he reached over his head, grabbed the extra helmet from behind him, and unclipped it before holding it out to Carly.

“If you're going to be out here, put on a goddamn helmet,” he said. “And strap in for the long run. This is not going to be an easy fight.”

She stared at him for a moment.

“Take the goddamn helmet, I'm not going to hold it out all day!”

She actually blinked back tears—dammit, he hadn't wanted to make her cry, not again—but then she took the helmet with her free hand and managed to strap it over her head.

“You ready?” he said, tuning into the headset.

When her voice came through, clearly and not muffled by the wind, right in his ear as though she were right next to him, he actually shivered with a deep, deep contentment.

“Ready,” she said.

“Then let's fight,” he said. “Together.”

. . .

“Fuck!”

Judai couldn't keep the expletive in—but it was probably more than acceptable because that was the _sixth_ wave of Ghosts coming in from behind them.

“Where are they all coming from?” he swore. “And why so many of them right here?”

He heard Yusei fiddle with the police scanner and heard the other boy swear.

“We've got even more incoming—the only ones that _aren't_ on our tail are the handful chasing Jack's team!”

“Does that mean we're getting close, maybe?” Judai said.

Yusei didn't answer and Judai knew why. It was because neither of them actually thought they were getting closer to the controller.

“We're being specifically targeted,” Yusei swore, blocking another attack with a trap card. “Judai, we _cannot_ keep this up for much longer.”

Judai was about to reply with an “I know” when a loud crash resounded behind them.

“Mizoguchi!” Sherry screamed, her bike wavering.

“Stay on course!” Asuka shouted. “He's fine! He took that blow for you, now keep fighting dammit!”

Asuka swore as she attacked another Ghost and took it out with one blow. She had already lost two Cyber Angels and she was down to Blader. Sherry righted herself with some difficulty, her eyes wide and face drawn. That quickly turned to rage as she turned on a Ghost with a fury.

“They're going to take us out, we can't hold off this many,” Yusei swore.

Stardust was gone already, and with Synchro Summoning being so dangerous—Yusei was down to a handful of defense monsters and without Synchro Summoning, none of them had really any defense to speak of. Steel Scarecrow was protecting him for now, but for how much longer before they got backrow destruction of some kind? On Judai's end, all he had right now was Flame Wingman, who was mostly doing its job since none of their Ally of Justice cards had much attack, but how much longer could _that_ hold?

“Yusei! Judai! Watch out!”

Judai's head jerked around. Fuck! One of the Ghosts was Synchro Summoning and that monster was headed for them!

“Trap card, open! Shift!” Asuka shouted. “I change the target to my Cyber Blader!”

“Asuka, _no!”_ Judai shouted.

“Take care of this, Judai, I know you can do it—”

Her sentence was cut off as the blow went through and her D-Wheel swerved, blowing steam out into her face. She screamed once, but then managed to right herself and skid to a safe stop. Yusei, Judai, and Sherry sped past her, leaving her behind.

“Sherry,” Yusei said warningly, as another attack started to target her.

“They're trying to get us alone!” Judai shouted. “What are they _after_?”

Sherry cried out—oh, _no_ , her life points were down too!

“Sherry!” Yusei shouted, but it was too late, she was spinning out and there were too many Ghosts for them to even move to the side a little, much less turn around and check on her.

Judai actually growled, wishing that Yubel was here so he could let the rage show through him in the form of his demon half.

He settled for the next best thing.

His eyes turned a brilliant gold.

Shadows exploded from him in a rush, stabbing through the wheels of several Ghosts. He sent as many as he could flying. He struck again and again and again, throwing his shadow magic in every direction, trying to lock the wheels in an imitation of that shadow card from before to take out as many as he could.

Immediately, sweat began to cling to his brow and stick his bangs to his forehead. His chest rose and fell rapidly, too rapidly, his heart was starting to race. His vision faded in and out—Yubel. He was too far from her, and using his power was draining him too much. She was too much a part of him and she was too far away.

“Judai, stop!” Yusei said. “Even I can tell you're hurting yourself!”

“C-Can't stop. We have to win,” Judai mumbled, striking out with another wave of shadows to trip up a pair of Ghosts.

There were so _many_. There must be over a hundred.

“Yusei, you have to Synchro,” he said, feeling dizzy. He pressed his face into Yusei's back—the light was starting to give him a headache. He felt out with his shadows instead and struck a Ghost right behind them, sending it catapulting into three others. “You have to Synchro.”

“I can't—we could crash.”

“We—we have to find the melody. It's the only way we can win.”

“Judai—”

Judai struck out again, but this time he was wild and weak and his stomach lurched at the expense of energy.

“Judai!”

Judai barely had the strength in his arms to grip onto Yusei. He tried to tighten his grip but there was no strength in his hands. Yusei's free hand snapped down to grab his wrist.

“Yusei, you have to be able to draw cards, don't—don't worry about me.”

“Then hang onto me better,” Yusei growled. “Don't even think about letting go.”

“Wasn't thinking about it, honest.”

He tried to squeeze tighter, but his muscles refused to respond. He had nothing left to give—he couldn't even lift his cards to duel at this point.

It was just Yusei now.

Yusei let out an angry cry as he attacked another Ghost, but another one just appeared to take its place. Judai weakly struck out with his shadows. It was barely enough to tip one over.

They were completely surrounded and they were going to die if they didn't do something right _now_.

“Yusei,” Judai said. “Do a Synchro summon.”

“But—”

“We don't have _time_!”

Yusei hesitated. Judai felt him lift his hands from Judai's and reach for his deck, fingers resting on the top card for a beat.

And then, suddenly, the sea of Ghosts parted behind them.

Judai felt a chill rush through him. The kind of feeling that made him think someone was walking over his grave—or like…something here had already happened before.

Yusei swore, and Judai turned his head to glance behind them.

He had never seen this man before, with his right eye covered with some kind of mechanical apparatus, dressed all in white on a large white D-Wheel that seemed somehow more bulbous than normal, somehow—wrong. He hadn't seen this man before and yet…

He looked so _familiar…_

“Who the fuck,” he mumbled.

The man pulled up right behind them, and Yusei could see the murder in his eyes, the way that his jaw clenched and his hands were white on his handlebars.

“You,” he said. “Are becoming very, _very_ annoying.”

“Who are you?” Yusei shouted.

The man's angry face changed to a dark, cruel smirk.

“I'm the one that's going to destroy you, Fudo Yusei,” he said. “With the power of my Meklord Emperor!”

Judai distinctly felt Yusei tense in his grip, felt the tremble rush through him.

Yusei was _scared_.

Judai felt something in him tighten.

_Not on my watch._

Judai pushed himself up on the seat and flipped himself around so that he was sitting backwards.

“Judai, what are you—”

“I'm sending this new piece of shit to hell where he belongs,” Judai said.

One good hit. That was all he needed. It might make him black out, but—one good hit. Just one good hit.

He summoned up every inch of shadow left in him, every bit of power, mustering the last dregs of his strength, eyes fixing on their new opponent. For a moment, he saw hesitation in the other man's eyes—and then anger.

“You,” he hissed. “It's _you_.”

Judai didn't have time to figure out what that meant. All of his power was pulsing in his chest, straining against him, begging to be released all at once. He just had to aim—right there, in the center of the new guy's chest, he looked like an official kinda guy, maybe this was even the controller and he could finish this hell already. He would hit with everything he had, right in the center, and the shockwave should take out most of them—

Except he didn't have the chance to make his move.

Because the new opponent charged forward and drew an actual sword from his belt, pointing it straight for Judai's chest.

 _If that gets me it will pierce through to Yusei too_ , he thought wildly.

He dropped his building magic—this guy was aiming for him right now, not Yusei so if he could just—

Yusei cried out, but Judai moved too quickly for Yusei to even react. Judai shoved himself up on the seat and launched himself from the bike. The motion threw his attacker off guard, his sword missing Judai by inches, but Judai hit the bike head on and all the wind rushed out of him. For a brief moment, he managed to cling to the front of the man's bike, hearing Yusei's shouts as though from under water, the wind screaming past his ears.

The man grinned maliciously at him.

“Have a nice fall,” he hissed, and he hit the brakes briefly on his bike.

Judai flew forward—his momentum hadn't stopped even though the bike had and for a moment, he just hung there, midair. He tried to summon his wings, Yubel's wings, tried to transform into his half self so that he could protect himself but Yubel was disconnected from him.

He crashed through the barrier on the upcoming curve. Glass shattered around him, his ears rang, the wind screamed.

He was falling.

From far away, he saw Yusei try to turn back, try to explode towards the place where Judai had crashed through and left a hole in the wall of the Duel Lane, but there were too many Ghosts and he couldn't get back. He could only watch Judai fall, helpless.

The last thing Judai saw before the shock overtook him was the far away glint of Yusei's terrified eyes.

. . .

No one noticed Bruno leaving the group behind.

Even _Bruno_ didn't realize that he was leaving the twins and Shou behind. He just…started moving. There was something else calling him, something echoing soundlessly between his ears and he couldn't think straight. He could only turn his bike when he was supposed to and go towards the spot that rang in his heart like a fish hook dragging him along.

Somehow, he wasn't surprised to see Izayoi Aki standing at the edge of the Duel Lane outside of the hospital, her hospital robe fluttering in the breeze. Somehow, he wasn't surprised when she stared at him with wide, pure white eyes.

Her mouth moved but no words came out. He had to read her lips.

_I tried to reach you. In the ocean. Why didn't you listen._

“I don't know,” he said. “I don't know if I heard you.”

_No one hears me anymore. I'm dying._

“Who are you?”

She didn't answer. She just held out a card towards Bruno. He took it, slowly, blinking.

“Yubel? Why are you giving me Yubel?”

Aki stared at him blankly.

_Give it back to the one that needs it._

“I don't…”

She moved forward then, and briefly brushed her lips against his cheek. Immediately, she collapsed and it was all he could do to catch her.

But there was something else pulsing in his head at the moment of her touch. A thought, as though implanted there. A singular thought that he had to do or he felt like he might die.

_Go save Yusei._

_Help them find the melody._

_Please._

Less than a minute later, Dark Glass was on his Delta Eagle D-Wheel and he was exploding down the road to find Yusei, Yubel tucked in his deck.

It would be some time later when Aki finally awoke, uncertain of how she had managed to get outside.

 


	16. Serpens

The child was crying.

“ _H-hey…hey! Hey, hold on, are you okay?”_

They wouldn't stop. For a moment, he had thought it was blood running down the child's face. But no, they were tears—glowing, crimson red tears, matching the rippling of red veins beneath the child's skin in ancient, mystical patterns.

“ _Hold on, just…just sit down for a moment, are you all right? What happened? Where did you come from? Does anything hurt?”_

Their grip was strong—too strong for a child their age. He let out a gasp at the pain from those tiny hands grabbing his arms and squeezing, almost breaking his bones between small fingers. But the voice, that was the voice of a child. Despite the strangeness of their appearance, despite the inhuman strength in their tiny body, they were a child, voice choked and shaking as they tried to speak.

“ _You have to help him.”_

Their voice cracked and their knees gave out under them. He swore and dropped down with the child, supporting their shoulders.

“ _Is someone hurt? Who do you need me to help? Breathe, please, you need to try and calm down.”_

“ _Please…_ please… _you have to save him.”_

“ _I don't—I don't understand. Who do you need me to save?”_

“ _He fell. He fell and I couldn't stop him. I wasn't strong enough.”_

“ _Calm down, it's okay. It's going to be okay.”_

Their hands shook for a moment. And then, with a speed that shouldn't be humanly possible, those hands clapped to the sides of his head. He gasped, almost jerked away out of the grip, his senses on alert, was the child attacking him—

And then he saw.

“ _You have to come forward with me,”_ the child whispered. _“You have to come with me. He needs you.”_

He gripped the child's hands, feeling his own hands shaking.

“ _Okay.”_

. . .

_Falling. He was falling again._

_No. No, wait. Not this time, it can't be this time, no, no, no, he promised, he promised that this time he would make it okay, that this time he would fix things, that this time, this time, THIS TIME—_

Judai snapped out of it, gasping for breath. The wind snapped past him, snagging at his jacket and clothes, but it wasn't enough to stop his tumbling free fall.

_Wings. I need my WINGS._

But Yubel was not within him, not the way she should be, and he was helpless. Thrown to the wind and the space. He was going to die.

_I'm falling again. Oh god, I'm falling again._

And then…

_Again?_

His mouth was dry, his vision blurred almost to black and he couldn't breathe. How long had he been falling? When was he going to hit ground? He had failed, Yusei was alone up there and—

Blackness was eating away at him. Not like he was blacking out, but like—but like he was getting consumed. Like it was surrounding him, swallowing him up, dragging him away—

He gasped and jolted himself instinctively and the darkness ripped away.

_No no no it's not time yet it's not time for me to go back yet I still have time I can still fix this_

Where were his thoughts going? He didn't understand them, he didn't even understand the thoughts that were running through his own head, it was like there was a separate version of him in his head that was babbling, panicking, and he couldn't focus enough to figure out what it was saying.

The ground was rushing up on him, he was going to fall onto one of the lower Duel Lanes, he was going to hit the concrete and he was going to die.

“Judai-san!”

Judai did not see him coming—he gasped as something smacked into him from the side, snatching him from the sky, driving the wind from his lungs. He couldn't see, he could only feel that there was something clinging to him and there was something solid under his chest—

They landed with a bounce and a screech and then they were spinning out. Judai cried out, still unable to see through the haze of panic.

And then the world righted itself and they were exploding down the Duel Lane.

“Judai, wake up, you have to hold on!”

Judai tried desperately to blink through the panic, tried to get his jelly limbs to respond to him.

“At least take this!”

Something—something being pushed into his hand. His fingers closed around it instinctively, something small and paper that almost cut into his skin—

— _Judai—_

And then Yubel was back. Judai head snapped back to focus as she filled in the ragged hole that she had left behind, righting his soul and balancing his senses. He gasped as his ears popped and his center of gravity located itself again.

_A D-Wheel. I'm on a D-Wheel._

“Judai-san!”

Judai snapped to alertness. He had been flung across the front of the D-Wheel, a huge, long black vehicle balanced precariously on one giant wheel on the back. The rider was trying to pin Judai to the seat with one hand, jaw clenched as he attempted to maneuver with one hand. Judai didn't recognize him—he had dark blue hair in a sweep over his head, and a thick red visor that hid his eyes from sight.

Judai coughed once, and then with Yubel's power pulsing within him, he pushed himself up and flipped to a sitting position in front of the man, ducking so that he could still fit his arms around and grip the handlebars.

“Are you all right?” the man said.

“I—I think so!” Judai shouted over the wind. “W-who are you?”

“That's not important right now! We have to get to Yusei!”

 _Yusei_.

Judai's mouth went dry as his eyes flew up to the lanes above. How would they get up there in time? Yusei was alone versus all those Ghosts, and that new guy besides! Yubel growled somewhere inside his chest.

“How do we get back up there?” he shouted.

“I'm getting back onto the transfer lane, but it's going to take _time!”_

“We don't HAVE time!”

Judai couldn't feel for the tremble rushing through him; he was barely hanging on as he strained to look up towards where Yusei had disappeared.

“Can't we contact him? With this?”

He rapped on the screen in front of them, but the rider at his back shook his head.

“My network's busted—we can't connect to his D-Wheel.”

 _Fucking hell_.

Judai could barely think. He was trembling and his mouth was dry and his vision was blurring in and out; he was still coming out of the shock of almost dying and his panic over Yusei was not helping. His mystery rescuer swerved once and swore. Judai realized why as he glanced over his soldier.

“More Ghosts??” he said.

“Placido must have noticed us!” the man said.

He swerved again, speeding onto a transfer lane to head up towards Yusei's lane. Judai wrenched his head around to look back towards the approaching Ghosts. The way he was situated, there was no way that the D-Wheeler was going to be able to duel with Judai in the way. Judai had to try and get _out_ of the way.

“Hang on a second!”

“What are you—”

Now that Yubel was back in his consciousness, all of Judai's dexterity was back in full force. He hopped into a crouch on top of the seat and reached back with both hands to the back of the D-Wheel. With a grunt, he flipped himself up onto the back of the D-Wheel, fingers digging into the metal for dear life.

“Scootch forward!” he shouted.

The D-Wheeler complied, and just when Judai thought he couldn't hang on any longer, he managed to wrench himself forward again and drop into the seat behind the D-Wheeler.

“There!” he said. “Don't mind me! Just duel the way you have to!”

“Hang on,” the man ordered. “This is going to be _much_ faster than you're used to!”

“I think I can handle—”

And then he let out a very unattractive squeak as the D-Wheel rocketed forward. He didn't worry about the awkward, he just flung his arms around the man in front of him and hung on for dear life. They were going _fast,_ too fast, shouldn't they be getting hurt by this speed? The world was nothing more than a smudge, a screeching wind that blasted past them. Judai tucked his head in to prevent the wind from cutting into his eyes, but even that wasn't enough to stop feeling the speed from grabbing at every exposed inch of him, threatening to rip him free. He clenched his jaw and managed to get his duel disk up. He had to fight too!

In a matter of seconds, he had gotten Neos back on his field, the Hero zooming protectively at his side. He was ready, he could support this guy that had saved him now! He just had to get a Neo-Spacian to contact fuse and—

Somewhere in the echo of the wind and speed, he heard the words his rescuer call out the words _Synchro Summon_.

The world was speeding and blurring and stretching and suddenly Judai's ears were popping and—

Music.

Judai felt something in him freeze up.

Oh god. He was hearing the melody again.

. . .

“Judai—JUDAI!”

Yusei's voice cracked, hoarse, but he didn't stop screaming. He wrenched his bike to the side, trying to get to the glass, but a Ghost pulled up right at his side and crashed against him, blocking him. Another Ghost hit him on the other flank, boxing him in, refusing to let him turn. His Turbo Synchron seemed to lean towards Yusei almost protectively, as though it were going to strike out at the Ghosts on its own. Unicycular zoomed right up next to Yusei as the Ghosts boxed them in tighter. Yusei tried to wrench his head over his shoulder, tried to look back and see where Judai had gone.

“ _JUDAI!”_

Oh, god, he had fallen, he had fallen, he was falling and Yusei couldn't do anything, he couldn't even turn around and try to get to him, he didn't know where to go, what to do, Judai was—Judai was—

He could not stop the cry from ripping from his throat. Anger. Terror. A horrible rage bubbling in his chest tempered only by the flutter of tears in his throat. His hands gripped at his bike so tightly that he thought he might snap the handlebars. _Judai. Judai. JUDAI._

“Too bad, Fudo Yusei!”

Yusei's eyes snapped towards the voice as the other D-Wheeler pulled ahead of him. The Ghosts kept Yusei pinned in place, only able to move forward alongside the man that had just thrown Judai off of the Duel Lane.

“Who are you?” Yusei said.

The man shrugged, that same horrible smirk on his face.

“Will it matter when you're dead?” he said.

Yusei's hands tightened even further on his handlebars. He couldn't breathe. He could barely see. All he could hear was the thrum of his blood in his ears. All he could think of was Judai being thrown through the glass. Falling.

His eyes locked onto his opponent's. For a moment, the other man's expression faltered, the barest flinch fluttering over his face.

_I'm going to end you._

Yusei powered into the turn. Wind ripped at his face, stealing his tears with it. He was going too fast—his brain told him that, but his body wouldn't respond. He could barely even see through the blur in his eyes, the angry tears streaking down his cheeks. He drew his next card with a wrenching cry—just what he needed.

“I activate Speed Spell—Stardust Wishes!” he said. “By discarding one card from my hand and banishing the correct monsters from the graveyard, I can Synchro Summon Stardust Dragon from my graveyard!”

His chosen monsters appeared in ghostly afterimages, Junk Synchron alongside Junk Warrior—eight levels.

“Clustering wishes will become a new shining star!” he shouted. For the first time he could remember, the chant felt _hollow—_ echoing with his own rage. “Become the path its light shines upon! Synchro Summon! Take flight, Stardust Dragon!”

His ghostly monsters flashed into stars and green gates, and then Stardust roared back to life from the graveyard. Its silver scales shone with a deadly sheen, as though it were covered in knifes. Yusei could feel it rippling with the same anger as him, the electricity and starlight roaring inside its chest, ready to release on their enemy.

“Stardust, _attack!_ ” he shouted, his bike skidding sideways as he turned to face down his opponent.

Stardust screeched with all the rage and pain that pounded in Yusei's chest. The great dragon swooped forward—wings slammed into the Ghosts and sent them flying all directions. Part of Yusei thought vaguely _Stardust shouldn't be able to do that—Stardust is a hologram—I am not a psychic duelist._ The other part of him could only think _Judai. Judai. JUDAI._

Stardust's maw opened and starlight exploded from within its throat. The attack struck Yusei's robotic opponent head on, and the man swore as his Wisel Core shattered. He swayed and wobbled, dangerously close to the edge of the lane. Fusing with his D-Wheel had only made things more dangerous for him, Yusei thought. If his bike crashed, he wouldn't be able to bail—he _was_ the bike.

“You're a _fool_ , Fudo Yusei!” the man shouted. “As soon as your turn ends, my Meklord Emperor will rise, and seal away your foolish Synchro monster!”

Something in Yusei snapped. The man was close to the glass wall—very close. Some primal instinct arose within him.

_Push him off._

_Push him_ off.

Yusei dropped back on his speed so that he was riding right alongside his opponent. He couldn't think. He was so angry that his entire mind was nothing but _white_ , the world was whiting out around him in his rage.

He slammed his D-Wheel into the side of his opponent.

The man gasped, eyes widening.

“What the hell are you—”

Yusei felt his lips pull back in a snarl and he slammed into the side of the bike again. Sparks flew as the side of the D-Wheel skidded against the railing. The man actually blanched. He hit his own brakes and dropped behind Yusei, swerving around to the middle of the lane so as not to get thrown off. He actually seemed to snarl at Yusei, his eyes narrow and his lips pulled back from his teeth.

Yusei felt an uncharacteristic stab of disappointment at having lost his chance so easily. He resorted to simply growling under his breath and pulling himself ahead of his enemy.

“Can't even keep to honorable combat, Fudo Yusei?” the man shouted, his lip curling. “You're exactly as I thought you were—an inheritor of _destruction._ ”

Somewhere underneath the whiteness of rage, Yusei felt his heart seize up. No…no…that wasn't…he didn't want…

“You're just like your father after all, aren't you?”

The guilt evaporated like a dry leaf catching fire. He felt only the hot, pulsing _rage_ in every vein and artery in his body, whiting out every thought, every emotion.

How _dare_ he. How _DARE HE._

“My father did everything in his power to stop Momentum!” Yusei shouted, spinning around to drive backwards. “And what about _you?_ You fucking—what about _Judai?_ ”

Judai. Judai. Judai. _Judai._

He had come all this way, all this way through time to help them, he couldn't even remember why, and he was trying anyway. Trying so hard to protect, to care for everyone, sending himself into anxiety attacks every night trying to figure out all of the threads he was missing. Trying to save everyone, even at the cost of his own mind, his own sanity, his own everything.

Judai was just trying to protect everyone.

And this man had killed him anyway.

Yusei could not think for the buzz in his head. For the whitening rage that blanked out everything in a narrow tunnel, everything except for his opponent.

Yusei could not remember wanting to hurt someone as much as he wanted to hurt this man.

His hand hovered over his cards, fingers trembling, every part of him trembling with the fury. He was going to destroy him.

“I'm going to end you,” he hissed.

_For Judai, you fucking bastard._

And then he heard the song.

In an instant, the world around him seemed to clear. He gasped, his eyes snapping back into focus. He felt like something had just been drained out of him. His shoulders slumped, his fingers loosened on the handlebars. It was like all the air had been let out of him. He felt dizzy. Disoriented.

The song curled around him, faint, insistent. In just a breath, it had—it had taken all his anger, all his rage away.

“What's the matter, Fudo Yusei?” the man taunted. “I thought you were going to destroy me!”

Yusei gasped for the air that had left him. He—his brain wouldn't—wouldn't function. The song was growing louder.

And then one thought occurred to him.

_The song comes when I'm around Judai._

_Judai is alive._

He whipped his bike back around forward. His foot punched into the gas.

He had to be _faster_.

He had to get to Judai.

The song grew louder, louder, louder, _louder, LOUDER—_ he was getting closer, he could feel it, the song was drawing him in. The wind ripped at him, threatened to tear him to pieces. No, no, he couldn't fall apart yet. He had to reach. He had to _reach—_

And for a moment, he felt him. He felt Judai's mind against his, felt their minds lock together, like the day they had formed Hourglass Dragon.

Yusei gasped.

Oh.

He saw.

. . .

Carly had sort of gotten used to the sight of auras, and even shadows, if one could get used to this strange, squiggly vision constantly hazed over with sheets of color and darkness. The one thing she hadn't ever really gotten the hang of, though, were the threads.

They were little tiny things, faint threads that were only visible when they caught the light just right. Like thin strands of spider's silk. She sometimes got _senses_ from them, the way she did when she saw auras. But auras were easier. She could understand people by looking at them, get impressions of their intentions, their true feelings, the essence of their personalities. The threads…they were far more difficult. She would get brief images, sensory impressions, like a taste at the back of her throat or a scent that disappeared before she could identify it.

They led to something, she knew that much. But figuring out _where_ they led was another matter entirely. How could she know which threads she should try to follow? Which were the right ones?

Was she seeing threads of fate itself?

She gasped for breath as the last Ghost crashed in a pillar of fire and smoke. The smoke billowed over the track and she ducked her head to cut through. Bursting through the smoke and into the clear, free air, with no duelists ahead or behind, she gulped down air like it was water.

 _Made it,_ she thought, head buzzing. _Made it…through…_

They had done it—they had taken out all of the Ghosts, and no one had gotten hurt. Jack and everyone were okay. She felt her chest fill up with helium. A laugh trickled out of her throat.

Jack's D-Wheel leaned closer to hers, and she caught his eyes through his visor.

He was smiling.

Carly's own smile burst across her face, and she felt another laugh rolling in her stomach.

“We did it,” she giggled, feeling so relieved that she was light-headed. “Wow, we—we did it.”

He grinned at her.

“Of course we did,” he said, looking as relieved as she felt. “You were all with the King, after all.”

“Well, thank you very much, Your Majesty,” Carly said.

He actually laughed. It felt like a release, like something unknotting from the air, clearing away like fog. She felt her shoulders slump with the relief.

“God, don't encourage him, Carly,” Crow said into their headsets. “Can we pull over now? My shoulder is going to fucking die. I probably am too.”

Jack laughed again, and Carly thought it must be the most beautiful sound she had ever heard. She tried to lean her D-Wheel a little closer, so that she could almost reach out to him, grab his hand. She wanted to—so badly. She should probably wait until they stopped driving, but she wanted to be closer—

The threads all sprouted in front of her vision like a knotted spider's web.

She screamed. Her hands jerked on the handlebars as though to avoid the knot, but no matter where she looked she saw them, tangling over each other, so thick that she could barely see past them, they were vibrating, humming, she couldn't hear, couldn't see, what was going on—

She thought she heard Jack shouting, thought she saw him swerve towards her, his hand swiping for her suddenly out of control bike, but she couldn't respond, she couldn't see or hear or think because the _threads_ there were so many threads in this moment and they were all tangled up and trapped and—

Oh.

They weren't spider's threads at all.

They were the lines of a musical staff.

And they were humming a melody.

That was the last thing Carly thought before the entire world exploded in a rage of fire and everything went black.

. . .

The world was made of light. Judai blinked. Where…was he?

He wasn't on that D-Wheel anymore. He was…alone. Standing alone in the middle of a white landscape, a world of…blankness. He shivered. This felt…wrong. Like he didn't belong here. He felt like a million eyes were on him, staring at him, wondering why he was there.

“J…Judai…?”

Judai's head snapped up. He whipped around.

Yusei stared at him. His blue eyes wide, shiny with tears and shock, his hands trembling at his sides.

“Oh my god,” he whispered. “Judai.”

And then Yusei almost ran right at him. Judai only had a second to step forward before Yusei was throwing his arms around him, pulling Judai against him and almost crushing him in his arms. Judai gasped with a sudden burst of relief, his arms tightened around Yusei's weight, just making sure that his solid bulk was actually _there_. One of Yusei's hands slid up into his hair like he was some child and Yusei was a mother who had finally found her lost child in a crowd, making sure he was all in one piece. Judai's arms tightened around Yusei's waist, his face pressed into his shoulder and he just breathed, feeling the grain of Yusei's jacket against his eyelids.

“Can—can you hear it?” Yusei whispered.

Judai knew what he was talking about. The melody. It _thrummed_ in this place, a feeling that vibrated in his bones. He couldn't actually hear it—it was more like…like a feeling, like something that echoed in his mind rather than his ears.

“Yeah,” he said. “Do you think it brought us here?”

“It…it must have.”

Yusei did not make a move to release Judai.

“What…what do you think it wants?” he asked, and Judai tensed at the sound of the break in Yusei's voice. “Where is it calling us?”

Judai opened his mouth to answer, to say he had no idea.

And then the melody seemed to hum _louder_ in his bones.

And just as suddenly, Yusei was gone. And Judai was falling again, dropping through the light, the world fracturing around him. Black leaked through the cracks of the world. Judai screamed, but the sound was swallowed up by the shadows that quickly swallowed up the world around him. He thought he heard Yusei crying out, somewhere in the distance. Judai shouted, struggled. His hands flailed for something to grab—Yusei. He had to get to Yusei. He had to reach— The shadows were clawing at him, drawing him down, away from the world of light.

“ _Find the balance.”_

“ _You have to find it.”_

The song. The song was tightening around him, choking the life out of him. He couldn't breathe. That damn _song_ , where was it—

…leading…

…him…?

Judai swiped once more for the world of light. His hand scraped against the white, scooped it against his hand like snow.

And then he was swallowed fully into the black.

Only the warm white remained in his hand, a tiny, tiny light in the darkness.

The song relaxed. Judai blinked once. He looked down at the tiny ball of light in his hand. It should…it should look wrong, in this darkness. Shouldn't it? But…something about it…a spot of light among the never ending black…

It felt right.

It felt like something he should have done ages ago.

The song nuzzled against him.

Oh.

So _that's_ what he was supposed to do.

. . .

One moment, Yusei was holding Judai—alive, real, _safe—_

The next moment, he was alone again in that white world. Well, alone, except for…

“A-Aki?” he said. His voice felt so hoarse, and he found himself coughing into his hand.

Aki stood stock still in front of him. It…it was Aki, right? Something was wrong about her. She wore a long white dress that fluttered in a non-existent breeze over her bare feet. Her hair was loose, long and red like blood around her shoulders—no, wait…it was turning…white. Pure white, like the world around her, the color bleeding out of her hair like smoke. She was barely visible against the background.

Her eyes fluttered open.

They were a pure, pale white.

 _This isn't Aki_ , Yusei thought with a burst of understanding.

“Where am I?” he demanded. “What is this place? _What have you done with Judai?_ ”

The being considered him for a moment that seemed to drag into eternity. Then their mouth opened.

And the melody poured out from within.

The song struck Yusei right at the heart. He gasped, eyes widening, his hand clutching at his chest. He felt tears spring to his eyes. It was…it was beautiful. More beautiful that he had realized, during the first times he had heard it. From so far away, he hadn't been able to hear the care and beauty that was put into every note.

The song fell off, struggled. He saw the being in Aki's shape falter, mouth twitch. The notes came stilted. He felt like those pure white eyes were staring at him. Desperate. The shape of Aki faltered and stuttered, like a hologram going through static. She seemed to shrink. As though it couldn't hold its own shape.

_It's not finished. The song isn't finished._

_They want me to finish it._

“How?” he breathed. “How do I…”

They stepped forward. Their hand grabbed his, turned it palm up, pressed their own hand against his palm. And he felt a warmth in his hand, a light that shone even brighter than the rest of this white world. Their hand dropped away and they stepped back. The song had faded and Yusei was left with the light in his hand.

A gift, he realized. This being had…given him something.

He felt those pleading eyes on his.

“But what do you want me to do?” he said. “What can I…”

They raised their hand towards him.

And then he snapped to reality again.

The world felt so oppressively _colorful_ after all of that. He gasped and swerved, almost losing control of his bike. Dizziness washed over him briefly, and then he was gasping, jolting to complete reality.

“Meklord Emperor, destroy his Stardust Dragon!”

Yusei swore—how long had he been knocked out for that vision? His opponent had summoned the Meklord Emperor already!

The great monster loomed over him, the glow inside its chest glaring at him as it pulsed. He saw the metal glint menacingly, a horrible creature that wanted to destroy him, destroy everything he cared about.

There was still a warmth in his hand, and his eyes dropped down to it. He drew in a breath.

“I activate Urgent Tuning!” he shouted. “I can Synchro Summon during your turn!”

His opponent actually laughed.

“And what will that accomplish, Fudo Yusei? It will buy you only a moment of time!”

Yusei ignored him, his eyes flashing to the only other two monsters on his field.

“I tune Unicycular with Turbo Synchron!”

Turbo Synchron revved up its engines and shot into the sky, forming into the green gates that Unicycular shot through.

“Gathering wishes will call out a new speed's horizon! Become the path its light shines upon—Synchro Summon!”

He could feel it, feel the melody humming in his bones, calling to him. He was close. So close to bringing out the creature that he had taken from that world of light.

“The Power of Hope! Synchro Tuner, Formula Synchron!”

The creature burst to life. It screeched out with a cry, zooming out like a miniature race car. Yusei gasped as the song reached a height in his head. He was almost _there_ , almost to the next verse. He could open it up—he could open up the new verse with this.

“Just another piece of trash for me to take,” his opponent laughed. “I'll crush it with the power of your own Stardust Dragon!”

The Meklord's chest yawned open. Tentacles of light slithered free from its neutron core, snaking for Stardust Dragon.

“I won't let you,” Yusei said.

 _This was it_.

Yusei powered into the wind, letting it scream and rush over him. The song swelled like an ocean around him, waiting, just waiting for him. He closed his eyes, sucked in a breath.

_Clear._

_He had to be clear._

_He had to be able to hear it. Hear the melody. Find it. If his mind was noisy, he would black out again, overwhelmed._

_He had to be empty. Let the music fill him._

. . .

Judai snapped back to himself on the back of the man's bike. He could feel it. Feel the song swelling and growing around him. His brain rushed and swirled.

No. No, he had to _focus_. He had to empty himself out. Let the music fill him up. Let it…

He gasped once, eyes widening.

Because suddenly, he felt like he was seeing _two_ sights at once.

On one hand, he was still on the back of that D-Wheeler's motorcycle, watching the Ghosts get blown away by the man's dueling. But on the other hand…

His gaze lifted and he saw Stardust overhead. He could hear it. The melody tightening around them, drawing them together.

_Yusei._

_Judai?_

Their brains locked, then. The melody grew and harmonized between them. Judai could feel the wind ripping at him, whistling and screaming—singing.

_Let's do this._

As one, Judai and Yusei raised their hands up.

Judai felt Yusei breaking the sound barrier. He felt the pop in his ears. He could hear the chant as though he were the one speaking it himself.

“ _Dreams crystallize to open a new door of evolution! Become the path that lights the way! Accel Synchro—Arise, Shooting Star Dragon!”_

And then Judai was raising up his own new card, the light that he scraped into the darkness, and he could sense Yusei doing it alongside him. Somewhere in Judai's chest he felt Yubel stir—anticipation, nervousness, _knowing_ that this was the moment. The song was reaching her, too.

“ _I summon the Tuner monster—Yubel, the Daydream Forgotten!”_

She hissed in his chest, with both battle excitement and wide-eyed nerves. Judai felt his chest twist and for a moment, he gasped.

And then Yubel was ripped from his chest and onto the field. The light was rushing through her veins, he could feel it, feel it changing her, transforming her. She gasped at his side as her wings tightened around her body to hide the transformation.

When her wings fell away, she was…smaller. She seemed tiny all of a sudden at his side. He thought he could smell flowers in the distance. She settled beside Neos, her now slender wings fluttering behind her.

Her eyes hadn't lost the spark of determination and will to fight, though, and Judai could feel her excitement at this newness rushing through him.

Judai and Yusei spoke as one from their distance.

“ _The forgotten dream will open a new door to the future! On new wings, soar towards the open sky—Synchro Summon!”_

Yubel shot in front of Neos, her wings crossing over each other as she glowed into a series of green rings. Neos passed through the gates and turned to starts, creating the line of light that would lead the new creature onward.

“ _Be born, Elemental Hero Daydream Neos!”_

They emerged from the light like a flower unfolding. Golden wings unfurled from a slender, gray and white mottled body as golden ribbons twirled around them, the blue of their garments fluttering in the white breeze. Their eyes opened, and they were the palest blue of the purest sky, with stars dancing somewhere behind them. Judai gasped as he felt his mind connect—with Yubel in her new form, with Yusei, with Yusei's new dragon, with the song that twisted around them.

_Is this it?_

_Is this what we were supposed to reach?_

_Did we do it?_

Judai wasn't sure; he couldn't tell right now with his mind turning.

But he knew the one thing he needed to do.

He shifted up on the back of the D-Wheel, balancing briefly. The D-Wheeler in front of him glanced back. He smiled, as though he knew what had just happened and he knew what Judai was planning next.

“Thanks for the ride,” Judai shouted.

“Go to him!” the man shouted back.

Judai grinned. Then he looked up towards Daydream Neos, soaring above him. He crouched down—and then exploded upwards. Daydream Neos caught him in their arms with ease. Then they soared upwards, the wind rocketing around them as they shot back up into the sky towards the higher Duel Lanes.

Judai found Yusei in seconds—it wasn't hard to locate the silver white dragon soaring above the dueling lane. Daydream Neos swooped down until they were level with Yusei. Yusei's opponent swore and swerved to get out of the way of the monster suddenly appearing.

Daydream Neos brought Judai level with Yusei. Yusei turned in his seat to meet Judai's eyes. Judai couldn't remember feeling so light as he did when he met Yusei's shining blue eyes. His grin exploded over his face.

He reached out with one arm towards Yusei. Yusei met his fist with his own, bumping them against each other. They held the contact for a moment longer than was probably necessary, and Judai resisted the urge to grab his hand. Not a good idea at this speed, but damn, was it tempting. Judai pulled back and let Daydream Neos turn him around so that that he was facing the robot opponent and the Meklord Emperor.

“Should we take him out?” Judai said.

“I think so,” said Yusei.

They grinned at each other. Behind them, their opponent screamed with rage.

“I'll just kill you both at once!” he shouted. “Wisel, take Daydream Neos!”

An evil grin twisted the man's face as Judai tensed—he knew why the man was switching targets. If Judai lost Daydream Neos, he'd crash into the ground—and probably not survive this time.

“Not going to happen,” he shouted. “When Daydream Neos is on the field, my monsters can't be targeted for card effects! _Lost in Daydream!”_

The tentacles that had shot for Daydream Neos grasped at nothing—Neos became insubstantial where they tried to strike, and they passed right through. The man screamed with rage.

“Yusei, take him out!” Judai shouted.

Yusei nodded.

“Shooting Star's effect! I can attack for each Tuner that I flip over from the top of my deck!”

Yusei's fingers dropped onto his deck.

“One!”

Junk Synchron—a tuner.

“Two!”

Another tuner appeared.

“Three! Four! Five!”

Judai could barely hold in a wild laugh of relief. _All five were tuners_.

Yusei flipped around to drive backwards, facing down his opponent.

“This is it,” he said. “Shooting Star Dragon! _Stardust Mirage!_ ”

The great dragon lifted its head and let out a cry—part of the melody, Judai realized. And then it split into five multicolored afterimages of itself, shimmering and glowing against the sky. The Meklord Emperor lifted its shield arm in an attempt to defend itself—but it didn't stand a chance. The mirages ripped through the Meklord one at a time, ripping the machine to pieces.

 _That should take him out!_ Judai thought triumphantly. _And then—_

“Reverse card open!” the man shouted, his voice taking on a wild tinge. “Damage Reflector!! Any damage I've taken this turn is given to you instead as effect damage!”

A huge mirror exploded out of the ground, absorbing the last mirage as it exploded through the Meklord's chest. Yusei swore.

But Judai couldn't stop himself from grinning.

“I activate Daydream Neos' effect! It reflects that effect damage right back to you!!”

The man's eyes widened and his mouth opened with a silent scream of absolute fury. Judai could not help but grin savagely at him.

“This is for throwing me off a duel lane,” he said. “Daydream Neos, _Dreamer's Mirror!”_

Daydream Neos threw their head back with a melodic cry—another part of the song. Their wings snapped around them and crystallized like a mirror. The explosion of damage hit the mirror wings and exploded right back.

The man let out one last scream before his entire D-Wheel exploded in a blaze of fire and smoke. Triumph rose up in Judai's chest, and his eyes started to turn towards Yusei with the absolute glorious feeling of victory, wanting to meet Yusei's eyes and share the moment—

But his eyes were drawn one more time to the pillar of flame and smoke. Or more importantly, the leaking white aura that was streaming from inside of it.

A coldness settled underneath his heart, tempering his wild feelings of victory.

He…he knew that color. He knew that aura. It was pure white, pure, stiff, brittle light that seemed to cling to the remains of the Meklord and the robot opponent—

He swore as suddenly, a faraway memory of his childhood seared across his brain. A faraway planet, where he had met Aqua Dolphin, and a strange robot that had crashed there, who had forced him to awaken his first powers of Gentle Darkness.

 _Oh my god,_ he thought. _The Meklords, they're—_

_They're powered by the Light of Destruction._

**. . .**

Waking came slowly. Luka gasped as the light filtered through her eyelashes. Her hand flopped over her eyes. What…where…?

And then the past few hours all came rushing back to her. The Ghosts! Her friends! Lua!

“Lua!” she cried out, shooting up. “Lua—”

She stopped. Her breath hesitated in her throat.

She was…on her own couch. In her own home. She looked around, head turning slowly. There was her Duel Board, and her brother's too, leaning up against the wall the way they always kept them. Had she… been dreaming?

Her gaze continued and then she stopped, eyes widening. That man, Shou, he was sprawled across her floor. What was he doing here? How had he…?

She scrambled off the couch and over to him, dropping beside him and putting her hand on his back. Breathing. He was just unconscious.

“H-hey—hey! Are you all right…?”

And then her eyes rose up almost of their own accord, and there he was.

Lua stood in front of the window with his back to her. A silhouette against the blue sky. His hands hung limply at his sides. He was completely unmoving, a statue. That…that didn't seem like a Lua thing.

“Lua?” she said, tentatively, her hand curling up in front of her chest. “Lua…Lua, are—are you okay?”

She remembered him getting attacked. Remembered being unable to protect him, that he was going to lose to the Ghosts. Being helpless to save her most precious person. And then the white, and the red, and…how had they gotten back home?

Lua wasn't responding. Her heart jumped. Was he having a seizure? Like the ones she got, the ones where he just faded out? Was that why he wasn't responding to her? She stood up, walked around Shou, came a little closer to Lua.

“Lua,” she called again. “Lua, please, what…what's wrong? Are you okay?”

He seemed to stir, his hands twitching. His head half turned towards her, hesitated.

And then he turned to face her, and she stopped walking forward, frozen to the floor.

Lua's eyes were red. A pure, glowing crimson, rippling like… like the body of the Crimson Dragon. He looked blankly at her, his mouth half open, like he wasn't really there. Like he was seeing something or someone that wasn't her. She couldn't speak. Couldn't even breathe. God, what—what was happening?

And then a tear rolled down Lua's cheek. His mouth opened, and his voice came out in the tiniest, barely audible whisper.

“This is all my fault.”

**. . .**

**A/N: I LIIIIIIIIIVEEEEEEEE and I bring PLOT TWISTS!**

**I am so sorry this took so long, for some reason this chapter just wasn't working :'D I’m back now, and I want to stay on schedule. If I don't have another chapter up by next Sunday, COME BOTHER ME ON TUMBLR. PLEASE. Also, shameless plug, but I posted pics of some of cards I made up for this chapter on my Tumblr (homura-bakura) so maybe have a look? :3 I hope you all enjoyed this chapter!**

 


	17. Pictor

Somewhere between tumbling gently onto the lane from Daydream Neos' arms, getting practically tackle hugged by Yusei and held for a good ten minutes, and then getting dragged onto the back of Yusei's bike as they turned back towards finding the others, Judai passed out. He tried not to. He knew there were a million and one things yet to do. They had to check up on the others, make sure everyone was okay, touch base with Asuka and figure out what the hell was going on, start looking into the Yliaster guys, figure out what happened to Yubel during the song—

But he couldn't. He couldn't think about it. He just let his head sag against Yusei's back and he blacked out from exhaustion.

He wasn't sure how long it had been when he finally startled awake. He blinked a few times, squinting at the artificial lighting swinging overhead. He was back at Yusei's place. On…on the couch, if his feeling of the ratty material under his fingers was to be believed. He simply laid there for a moment, trying to think past the whine in his ears and the buzz in his head.

Voices drifted to him, quiet, reverberating against the kitchen walls.

“No, I…Jack. Listen, we'll…no, I understand…just…”

Yusei's voice. Quiet and soft and soothing in its deep richness. Judai let his eyes flutter half closed again, feeling a breath unknot in his chest that he hadn't known was there. Safe. Yusei was safe.

He heard the phone click as Yusei put it back on the hook.

“He's staying at the hospital for now…she looks stable, but he refuses to come back.”

Judai hear Crow swear softly.

“Fuck…it's like we don't get a break, huh? Even though we won.”

“We won a single fight,” and Judai had to take a breath because it was really sinking in that that was _Asuka's_ voice, a more mature-sounding version of her, but it was her nonetheless. His friends from Duel Academia were really here; he hadn't dreamed it. “The war is far from over…”

“I'd really appreciate it if you guys would start explaining that shit,” Crow said, his words coming out tight. Judai thought he heard nails digging into wood. “What exactly is going on here? Do _you_ know what these Yliaster bastards want?”

A pause. Judai could almost see her now, chewing on her lip in that way she did when she was uncomfortable, tapping her fingers in that rapid pattern.

“I'm quite interested myself,” said the harsh tones of that woman—Sherry? “My parents were killed by ZONE, and I intend to know why.”

“We don't want to have to repeat ourselves,” Manjoume snapped. “Wait until Judai wakes up.”

Judai heard Sherry's boots click as though she were moving into a combative position, and he heard the flutter and snap of Manjoume's coat as the other man moved. Finally, Judai's brain remembered that he had limbs, and his eyes opened. He groaned as he sat up, trying to move quickly so that he could stop whatever fight Manjoume was about to get himself into.

“I'm up, I'm up,” he groaned. “Ugh. Geez.”

His head spun and he squeezed his eyes shut for a moment, pressing the heel of his hand to his forehead. He heard boots clicking quickly over the tile floor and then a hand came against his back, another on his shoulder.

“Take it slow,” Yusei said. “You've been out for about two hours.”

“That's it?” Judai said, trying to make a joke. “By the pounding in my head I thought it had to be at least two days.”

The joke in his tone seemed to fall flat, sinking in the heavy ocean of unease that filled the room. He let his eyes open and glanced around the room to note each face. Sherry and Manjoume were indeed facing off across the kitchen table, Manjoume standing straight up with his arms folded and his eyes dark beneath his bangs, Sherry with her fists curled up at her sides and shoulders shaking.

Asuka sat at the far end of the table, chewing on her lip and tapping her fingers just as Judai had imagined. Crow stood near her with his hands braced against the table. Bruno had tucked himself into the corner behind Asuka, clutching a mug between his hands, his eyes flickering around uncertainly between all the faces in the room.

Yusei was still standing at his side, his hand not moving from Judai's back.

“I'm…I'm okay,” Judai said.

“Take it slow anyway,” Yusei said. “Do you need water?”

“I'm fine…”

He winced as another wave of dizziness washed over him. Immediately, Yusei sat down next to him, taking him by the shoulders and easing him to lean against the back of the couch.

“Don't move so much,” he said. “You don't have to get up.”

“I need to know what's going on,” Judai said. He squinted, trying to get his vision to stop from doubling. It finally settled and he sighed with relief. “Where's Shou and the twins? And Jack…and Carly's gone too?”

The room seemed to tighten immediately. Judai's heart jumped. He didn't like that feeling.

“Shou is at the twins' place,” Manjoume finally said, still not taking his eyes off of Sherry. “Something happened to them and they're not sure what. Shou doesn't think he should move them yet; they seem shaken.”

Judai heart leaped and his mouth went dry.

“What happened to them? What do you mean they're shaken? Did something hurt them? What—”

“We don't know anything, but they're safe, and that's all Shou said,” said Asuka. “Jack and Carly are…”

Again, that terrible tightness. Judai's stomach turned.

“Carly crashed,” Yusei said, his voice coming out quiet, barely audible. “She went after Jack and the others, said something about…whiteness that she had to protect them from. But after the Ghosts were taken care of…”

Crow's fingers scratched deep ruts into the table's wood.

“I don't know what happened,” he said. His eyes were focused on the table but his gaze seemed fixated elsewhere. His hands trembled against the wood, his face drawn—haunted. “All of a sudden she just—started screaming. And then she lost control—”

Judai felt acid creeping through his veins, stealing his breath away.

Oh, god…Carly…

“She's—she's all right, isn't she? She can't—”

“She's alive,” said Yusei. His arm slid easily around Judai's shoulders and he squeezed them gently. His other hand dropped on top of Judai's. “She's alive, and she's stable. But Jack refuses to come back until…until she wakes up.”

The silence that followed felt like it would be better suited for a wake. Judai felt his limbs getting tight and his hands shaking. Yusei pressed against him almost unconsciously, and Judai automatically pressed back. There was something comforting about his solid bulk holding him there, steadying him.

He swallowed.

“Right,” he said lamely. “So what's the good news?”

Once again, his attempt at diffusing the tension was swallowed up by the tense silence. For a few more moments, the silence dragged. And then Sherry scowled, folding her arms with a snap and flipping her hair.

“All _right_ ,” she said. “He's awake. Explain things. Now.”

“Well isn't someone feeling bitchy today,” Manjoume muttered.

Sherry looked like she was about to throw herself across the table and slam her fist into Manjoume's face, and by Manjoume's stance, he was one hundred percent ready to throw down with her. Asuka cleared her throat, however, and all eyes turned towards her.

“Right,” she said. “Yliaster.”

She sighed, dragging a hand through her long hair for a moment. Judai wasn't at the best angle from his spot on the couch, but even from here, he could see the tiredness that seemed to drag at her face. She looked, in that light, much older than she should be—and especially to Judai, who was still imagining the young nineteen-year-old that he had just seen at her American college a few months back. A few months back for him, anyway…almost three decades for her. He felt his chest clench up and his jaw tighten. Dammit…if only he could remember how…or why…

“It started…twenty years ago, now, I think…” Asuka said. “Fujiwara called, asking for Fubuki…but my brother was out…”

. . .

_Twenty years previously_

The phone screamed from the counter, squealing that horrible American metal music that Fubuki was so incredibly into nowadays. Asuka swore. She dropped the basket of laundry and stalked to the kitchen, finding the offending noisemaker. That stupid brother of hers, forgetting his phone at her house again.

She snatched the phone and flipped it open, glaring at the caller ID with the full intention of being a total asshole to whoever was calling and letting Fubuki deal with it later…

She paused then. That was a name she recognized—and one she hadn't heard much from in a few years. _Fujiwara Yusuke_ , the screen blinked. Asuka sat there for at least two rings buzzing against her hand before she finally decided that she should probably answer. She hit the green button and tapped the phone against her ear.

“Hello?”

“Fubuki!” the voice came on the other end, breathless. “Thank god, you finally answered—listen to me, I've found—”

“Whoa, whoa,” Asuka said, waving her hand even though Fujiwara couldn't see her. “I'm sorry, Fujiwara-san, it's not Fubuki. It's Asuka. He left his phone at my house again.”

“What? Asuka-san?”

Fujiwara's voice went silent for a moment. And then he made a soft huffing sound, and Asuka thought she heard his hair swishing as he shook his head.

“Okay, fine, you'll do,” he said. “You were involved, anyway—”

“Wait, hold up, what do you mean 'I'll do?' What's going on?”

“Asuka-san, I need you to listen, and I need you to listen carefully,” Fujiwara said. He sounded…panicked. His voice heavy and breathless, cracking.

“Are…are you running?” Asuka said, listening to the panting and the sound of feet against stone. “Fujiwara-san, is something wrong?”

“I—yes, there is something wrong. But I don't—”

He swore and Asuka heard a heavy crackle. She winced and held the phone a few inches from her ear.

“There's something—something big,” Fujiwara was saying when she brought the phone back to her ear. “I had no idea—they were so far-reaching—”

“Fujiwara-san, you need to breathe,” said Asuka. “Start from the beginning. What's wrong?”

Fujiwara gasped for breath on the other end, and Asuka's heart jumped with nerves. She felt a tingling at the base of her neck, a ghost-like feeling like something was watching her, studying her. She shivered, feeling suddenly cold.

“The program at Duel Academia that I was in—the honor students that were studying Darkness, and Shadow Games,” Fujiwara said. “I thought—I thought it was just Kagemaru, just the owner trying to find a way to immortality, but it wasn't, someone else was paying him to do experiments and I—”

His voice choked for a moment and he had to pause, leaving Asuka to just listen to the pants and the sound of someone's feet striking the ground.

“Listen, Asuka, they're trying to do something, something bad—they're calling themselves Yliaster, and they're old, very old, big, something that I don't think I can handle on my own. I need—”

He swore on the other end.

“I'm going to call you back. Get Fubuki, tell him I've found the source, he knows some of what I've been doing already. I'm on the next flight to Japan.”

“Fuji—Fujiwara!”

Too late. He had already hung up. Asuka stood there for a moment, overly aware of her own weight pressing her feet into the tile. She pulled the phone from her ear, stared at the little, innocent piece of technology resting in her palm.

What had _that_ been about…?

Part of her felt like she didn't want to know.

. . .

“Someone _else_ was in charge of the experiments at Duel Academia?”

Judai's hands were shaking. Badly. Yusei tried to press his hands tighter against the top of Judai's to smooth calm into them. He looked so pale, so…fragile. Yusei felt like Judai wasn't well enough yet to be trying to sort through all of this information. He had nearly fallen to his death for god's sake—and Yusei still wasn't certain how Judai had gotten himself to safety. He hadn't had a chance to ask him. Had someone caught him, somehow? Had he Synchroed as he fell and Daydream Neos had caught him? Questions he didn't have answers to. All he knew was how much he wanted Judai to lie back down and go back to sleep. How much he wanted to wrap his arms tightly around Judai's shaking shoulders and try to calm him down. He wasn't ready to fight another battle yet. He needed to rest.

Asuka nodded in response to Judai's question.

“When Fujiwara got to Japan, he met with Fubuki and I,” she said quietly, her voice strained, as though this were hard to talk about. “He told us…about Yliaster.”

She sucked in a breath, steadying herself, but then Manjoume hopped in.

“They've been fucking everywhere,” he said. “They weren't just paying Kagemaru to research Darkness, either. Ed said that Saiou had dropped the name Yliaster once. When we called him, he said that he didn't know much, but that he had been met by someone from the group when he and Mizuchi were kids. They were the ones that passed Bloo-D to Saiou briefly; caused him to get possessed. Looked like Ed's foster father was involved with them somehow too.”

He scowled as he leaned back against the table.

“After a little digging, I even found out my brothers were involved,” he said, his voice in a growl. “Not knowingly, but most of their business contacts turned out to be affiliated with Yliaster. They're in the government, the business world, they're like fucking _cockroaches._ ”

“And they were researching Darkness?” said Judai, leaning forward. “Why? Do we know?”

Asuka shook her head.

“I never…really got that much information,” she said. “I feel like Fujiwara may have known something more.”

She took another steadying breath.

“It feels like it all happened so quickly,” she mumbled. “But it's been almost twenty years we've been at this.”

She sighed. Her fingers touched to her temple for a moment.

“Fujiwara left almost as soon as he came to touch base with us. He rushed off to the next place, and—”

“Wait,” Judai said, raising his hand up. He winced as he did so and Yusei wondered if he had a headache. “How did Fujiwara find out about any of this? What was he doing?”

“Researching Darkness,” Manjoume said. He scowled, matching Judai's sudden flicker of uncertainty in his eyes. “Yeah. Sounds bad, right? After all of that, he was still getting himself mixed up with that shit.”

“Fubuki told me,” Asuka said, shooting a glare at Manjoume, “that Fujiwara was worried about the long-term effects of what had happened when Darkness arrived the first time. He was trying to find out if anything had been permanently damaged by Darkness' arrival, and everyone being absorbed for a time.”

“And that's when he found Yliaster,” Sherry murmured.

Asuka nodded. She looked so _tired_ in that moment, the dull artificial lighting heightening the dark circles under her eyes.

“Like I was saying, Fujiwara ran off almost as soon as he came back,” she said. “The next we heard from him was about six, seven months later. He practically _screamed_ at us to get out of the city immediately.”

Yusei sucked in a sudden breath, feeling the room grow cold. Now _his_ hands were the ones that were starting to tremble. She didn't…she couldn't…

“He wouldn't say why,” Asuka murmured, her voice sounding choked. “Told us to just—run. Get out of the city as quickly as we could. That there was no time to warn anyone else, to evacuate anyone else—”

She stopped midsentence. Her hand pressed against her mouth and her eyes squeezed shut. Almost immediately, Manjoume stepped over to her. His hand dropped onto her shoulder and squeezed gently.

“Asuka,” he murmured. “Hey. Hey. Stay with us. You're right here. You're right here.”

Asuka's shoulders shook. Yusei felt Judai tense under his hands, felt the tremble grow deeper. Yusei himself was finding it hard to keep his mouth from drying out.

“Zero Reverse.”

Crow was the first one to say it. The words rang over the room, like a curse, piercing into every heart and bone. Yusei almost choked on his own air. He had to close his eyes for a moment, steady himself.

“We only just barely made it out of the city when it happened,” Asuka finally said. “I—if I had just tried to make a few more people leave…”

“How did he know?” Sherry snapped. “How did he know that something like that was about to happen??”

Asuka still looked like she was on the verge of panic attack, and Manjoume glowered at Sherry.

“Fujiwara seemed to know a lot of goddamn things, and he wasn't very good at sharing,” he said. “Comes from being an only child, I guess.”

Sherry stepped forward, fists at her sides, and Manjoume straightened up to meet her eyes with a dull fury. Asuka put a hand on his arm. Her hands were still shaking, but she met his eyes anyway. They shared an unreadable expression for a moment. And then Manjoume backed down, returning to leaning against the wall with his arms folded tightly over his chest.

“That was around when I got involved,” Manjoume said, pointedly ignoring Sherry. “I saw the news and came to check on Asuka and Fubuki. Fujiwara had already made it there by the time I was able to get over there.”

“And…and he had brought someone with him,” Asuka said. “A nervous sort of man…someone who said that he used to be a part of Yliaster.”

. . .

_Eighteen years previously_

The man sat perched at the edge of his chair, wringing his hands. Asuka found herself just staring at those hands, long-fingered, thin, bony, like a daddy long legs. The man had a bulging sort of nose that looked like it may have been broken more than once, the skin drawn tight over his face like parchment. Her eyes followed the movement of his fingers like a kind of metronome, lulling her brain into beautiful blankness.

She felt a light touch on her shoulder, but she did not look up at her brother. She didn't want to see the bandage on his cheek that marked where the debris had caught across him. She didn't want the reminder of how much worse other people had gotten it. She didn't want to think, period.

She could hear Manjoume's voice shouting on the other side of the door, Fujiwara's voice a terse volume beneath his.

“ _Do you think this is what they need right now? More fucking supernatural shit messing up their lives?”_

“ _They're involved now; I can't just not tell them anything.”_

“ _Get them uninvolved. Get us all uninvolved. I don't want shit to do with this—this war you say you're fighting. I'm one hundred percent done—and those two—they just fucking lost everything and you're trying to conscript them into—whatever the fuck you're doing!”_

“ _You don't think they have the right to know_ why _they've lost everything?”_

Manjoume fell silent. After a beat, Asuka's brain was able to flutter back into non-thinking. She didn't want to think about anything, or anyone, didn't want to remember that huge flash of light that had blinded her, or the screams or the crashing or the explosions or the fire—

She gasped. Fubuki's hand tightened on her shoulder, and her hand clamped down on top of his. She clung to the sensation, tried to focus in on just the feeling of his hand on her shoulder.

The door opened. She didn't look up, but Fujiwara came into her line of vision anyway. He cut a striking figure, far different from the slightly nervous young man she had come to know in their last year of high school. Back then, Fujiwara had been trying anxiously to make up for what he had done, to try and prove that he was not the villain he had made himself.

Now, he was a vengeful sort of spirit, with his face twisted into barely concealed anger, his fingers clenching and unclenching around invisible throats at his sides. Now, Fujiwara was trying to fix his mistakes, and he was not backing down from one inch of it.

He pressed his hands to the table, fixing his eyes on the man across from him. Those eyes were enough to make a tiger decide to find other prey, and the nervous little man got the full brunt of it. He made a strangled sort of noise in his throat and dropped his eyes to his own hands, which were wringing against each other even faster now.

She heard Manjoume come in behind Fujiwara, his coat snapping as he turned to shut the door. The house settled softly around them, making little whispers.

“Now,” Fujiwara said, eyes fixed on the man. “You said that you had information for me.”

The man swallowed. His bony Adam's apple bobbed up and down with the motion and his fingers increased in speed.

“I didn't know,” he said faintly. “I didn't know—how far they were willing to go.”

“Speak up, and stay on topic,” Fujiwara said. “I don't care about how broken your morals are right now. I care about facts. You're going to tell me _what_ Yliaster is, and what it wants.”

The man shook his head very quickly, mumbling to himself for a few seconds. Fujiwara straightened up as though to come around the table, and the man yelped.

“I thought we were doing something good,” he said. “Something important. I thought we were protecting the world—but this—this isn't—protecting—”

He sobbed and pressed his face into his bony hands.

Asuka felt something then. For the first time in days. It sparked in her chest, a tiny glimmer at the end of a sparkler. She almost didn't recognize it. She had felt so empty and dead for the past few days, ever since the explosion had wiped out almost the entirety of the city she loved and lived in, since the lockdown was initiated to prevent the spread of radiation and locked her away, unable to even call inside to see if her friends were okay, if her students and their families were safe. The thing let out a little flicker of sparks. Caught fire. What was it?

_Anger._

She rose with a snap, Fubuki's hand sliding off of her. He reached for her again but she was already stalking around the table. Her hand reached out, she was watching herself move as though from a distance, her fingers curled into the man's collar and yanked him towards her. He gasped and his eyes bugged farther than they already were.

For a moment, she just held him there, staring at him, shaking. Her mouth too dry to speak.

When she finally managed to get a word out, only one came.

“Why?” she whispered. She swallowed, searched for more words. “Why did they destroy it?”

The man moaned once. His fingers twitched as though he wanted to try and remove her hand from his collar, but he didn't dare try.

“Momentum,” he mumbled. “We thought it was—light. It must be, shouldn't it? So crash dark into it, and—we were just trying to—but I—didn't think they would—two darks crashing together made it all go—”

And then his eyes widened. His throat seemed to close up, and both hands scrabbled for his neck. Fubuki jumped forward, put his hands under Asuka's arms and eased her away from him.

“Hey, hey,” he said, trying to sound soothing. “Calm down, don't hurt him…”

“I—I didn't touch him,” Asuka said, fumbling backwards. She gripped at Fubuki's arms for support.

The man was choking. On—on what?

Fujiwara swore. He shot forward, grabbed the man's shoulders, tried to tilt him back to see what was happening.

“Dammit, don't—stay with me, dammit, you haven't finished telling us—”

The man grabbed Fujiwara's hands, his eyes bugging, air choking on its way into his throat. His face was pale, desperate, begging for help.

“We—were—” he gasped. “Just trying—to preserve—the—balance…”

And then his eyes rolled back into his head, leaving his eyes a pale, dull white.

He slumped in Fujiwara's grip. Fujiwara lost hold of him, and the body—dead—Asuka realized with a jolt of terror—slumped off the chair and to the floor.

They all stood there for a moment. Staring at the man who had simply…died in front of them.

Fujiwara was the only one to speak.

“The balance,” he mumbled. “That's what the last one said too.”

Only silence remained.

. . .

Silence hung over the group for a few moments. Judai groaned softly. He just wanted to _sleep_.

“So this…Yliaster…is trying to…balance things,” he mumbled. “And they caused Zero Reverse for that purpose.”

“I don't know if that was their intent,” Asuka said. “But it was certainly the result.”

Judai slumped in his chair. His mind went back to his most recent revelation. The Meklords were powered by the Light of Destruction. They were something from outer space, something that had come to spread the Light and oppress the Gentle Darkness. But what did that have to do with Momentum? With Yliaster? Why were Yliaster using the Meklords, vessels of Light, but they were also behind the darkness that had influenced the Dark Signers, and Zero Reverse?

Nothing made sense.

“So these guys think they're trying to help?” Judai said weakly. “They think they're…protecting the world?”

“Seems like it,” Manjoume muttered. “Bunch of fucking nutcases.”

A silence hung over the group for a while. Judai's head was spinning. What was this about preserving the balance? What was Yliaster trying to accomplish? What was _Fujiwara_ trying to accomplish? Why was he attacking Yusei and Judai and the others if he was supposed to be fighting Yliaster, the same antagonist that Team 5D's was facing off against? Did Fujiwara know something that Judai didn't?

 _If only the guy would talk to me_ , he thought. _If only he would just tell me what's going on instead of being so fucking cryptic._

He leaned his head back against the couch, groaning softly. Yusei's hand tightened against his, and Judai found his own hand twisting into Yusei's fingers. He let out a breath he hadn't known he had been holding, and almost instinctively slid over to lean against Yusei's shoulder. His closeness was a comfort in the spinning of his head and thoughts.

“Well,” Judai said finally, trying to crack a feeble smile. “So what _is_ the good news?”

For a moment, no one answered. Once again, the terrible attempt at being cheerful had failed.

And then the door from outside flung open. Everyone jumped as one, several swears echoed as people scrambled to face the door—

Izayoi Aki stood with shoulders squared, a silhouette against the darkening day. She stared at each one of them, one at a time. And then she smiled.

“What's the good news?” she repeated. “Well. I guess I'm here again.”

. . .

Jack thought maybe he had been here long enough that his heart was starting to beat along with the monitor.

He knew that his knuckles had left a mark on his cheek, he had been sitting with his head resting against his fist for at least forty-five minutes now. This chair was starting to become molded to his figure at this point. And it was uncomfortable as fuck.

She just…laid there. Quiet and still. If not for the heart monitor, he might think she was…no. No, his thoughts couldn't go there. They absolutely could not go there. He licked his lips—dry. He hadn't gotten water in a few hours. There was a water fountain down the hallway, he had seen it while he ran alongside the gurney.

He knew even as he thought about it that nothing was going to move him from this spot.

He reached out towards Carly's prone form, tucked some of her hair behind her ear. Her breath misted against the breathing mask, eyes closed. Her arm was already in a cast, her leg braced up. The doctors had said it was only a tiny fracture in her knee, nothing to be worried about. Her arm was snapped, but it was easily reset.

It was the head injury they were worried about.

For a moment, Jack felt like he was sitting at the coffee shop again. And she was there, chattering about something or another, waving files or photos in his face in an attempt to drag him into the conversation.

His hands curled up into his lap. He could see himself. Grunting noncommittally at every word she said. Refusing every opportunity to ask her a question to keep her story going, to even make a sound of approval or interest. Downing cup after cup of coffee to have an excuse for why he wasn't talking. Or more likely…an excuse for why he hadn't left yet, even though he wasn't talking to her.

His head drooped, his arms leaned down against his knees.

 _Stupid. Stupid, stupid, stupid_.

He hadn't wanted her to remember. It was stupid of him. He had been…so afraid that she would remember, remember the times that she had been a Dark Signer, remember the people that she had hurt while under the influence of the god, remember _dying…_

He didn't want her to wake up in the middle of the night with an unreleased cry dying in her throat, a cold sweat matting her hair to her forehead. The way he did. He didn't want her fleeing from nightmare monsters every night in her dreams the way he did, didn't want her to remember that haunting vision of the hell like world that the dark god had tempted both her and him with.

He didn't want her to live with the guilt that he did.

He had thought…staying away from her…maybe he wouldn't spark any unconscious memories. Maybe…she would be safe. As long as he stayed away.

And yet he hadn't been able to leave the table when she had arrived. Hoping that grunts and no conversation might eventually scare her away. It never did. She never gave up. She had…she had a bright spirit like that. And perhaps, part of her remembered…remembered what they had said to each other during those last moments, when he had pressed her to him even as she turned to dust and disappeared. Perhaps part of her had wanted that back as much as he had.

“I wanted you to be safe,” he whispered. “I wanted you to stay away from me. From the bullshit that this gets me into.”

His nails dug into his right arm as he said that, as though he could claw off the mark there that signified what he was. What he had to do with his life—act as a Signer. Who knew what might show up after this Yliaster thing was dealt with? What new problems would he be asked to fight against as a Signer?

That wasn't a life he wanted for her.

He noticed, then, the tear that was forming at the edge of her eye. He startled, sat straight up. Was—was she awake? Or was she having a nightmare of some kind? He reached out with one finger, carefully scooped the silver tear away.

“I want you _safe,_ ” he whispered again.

Something brushed against his leg. He startled, jumping up out of the chair. What the fuck? Was there a cat in here?

But when he looked down, he saw nothing.

“Hey,” said a cheerful sort of voice behind him. “Word of advice, friend.”

Jack whipped around, his muscles tensing in spite of himself, shoulders raising up like hackles as he pushed himself between Carly and whoever was—

He was an older man, older than Jack, definitely, but he could have been anywhere between thirty and late forties. Foreign, with a smooth, round face and glittering green eyes under neatly clipped blue hair, faint wrinkles around his eyes from smiling.

“Who—” Jack started.

“If you want to keep someone safe,” the man said, talking over him. “You ought to keep them _close_.”

His hand reached up to his shoulder, stroking at something that Jack couldn't see. As though there were some kind of cat, or squirrel sitting there.

“In other words, you shouldn't avoid the people you want to protect. You should remember that they want to protect you too.”

“Who are you?” Jack snapped.

The man's smile was bright, cheerful, as though he were much younger than his face indicated.

“I'm Johan Andersen,” he said. “I was just passing through, and Ruby told me that you two might need a bit of help.”

. . .

“Disaster…absolute disaster…”

Jose looked like he was about to start ripping apart walls with his hands as he paced back and forth. Luciano kind of wished he would. It would be more amusing than just staring at the walls, anyway.

Placido hung in the air, held up by the pale, pulsing green light that emanated from the wide table at the middle of the room. He was in pieces—lots of them. Luciano wondered if they had even found all of them.

He had to admit, Placido's face looked pretty stupid with his mouth wide open like that, his eyes all buggy. Luciano giggled as he kicked his feet back and forth. What a total dope. He had gone all out against Yusei from the get-go, and look where it had gotten him. Hilarious.

Jose didn't seem to notice just how funny it was, though, as he kept pacing and grumbling.

“The little—I can't believe he would—going to put us behind schedule…”

And then the room went white. Luciano felt a shiver flee down his spine and his smile died.

God was coming.

Jose froze in the middle of his pacing as everything shifted, reset, became a pure, blinding white around them that obscured everything. Even Placido disappeared, leaving only Luciano and Jose to meet with…him.

Like always, Luciano wasn't prepared for God's appearance. One moment, they were alone in the white. The next moment, _he_ was there. More than just a spinning hunk of metal, there was a…heaviness in the air. Something that made it hard to breathe. Hard to move, even, like his limbs were locking up into place, oppressed into stillness. He tried to slow his breathing the way that Jose had tried to teach him. Control himself. He didn't want to look weak in front of _him_.

God spun there for a moment, hanging in the white. When he spoke, his voice echoed, metallic and glimmering, like it was made of molten steel pouring down into the air and turning everything shiny.

“ _Placido has fallen.”_

Jose bowed very low, almost doubling completely over.

“We'll fix him, my lord. We apologize for—”

God hummed softly. Almost a melodic sound, one that chilled Luciano all the way to his metal bones. A melody, but broken. Unfinished, out of tune.

“ _Do not apologize. This is meant to be.”_

Jose hesitated.

“My…lord?”

God spun slowly, gently in the white.

“ _The Circuit nears completion…keep collecting…keep collecting the light, to alight its paths. The light of hope…it will guide us.”_

Jose nodded. Luciano dropped his eyes to his feet and found that that made God's presence much easier to bear, so he started studying his roller skates.

“We will continue on our path, my lord,” Jose said. “May I…request a thought?”

“ _Mmm. Yes.”_

“Team 5D's has grown ever more dangerous. They have new allies at their sides. Most particularly a boy that shouldn't be here…Yuki Judai.”

Luciano wasn't sure, but he thought he felt…hesitation? There was an element of consideration in the air, as though God wasn't sure how to respond.

“… _he is irrelevant.”_

Jose bowed his head.

“I understand.”

“ _But…”_

Luciano glanced up, curious all of a sudden. There was a new tone in God's voice. Something…vaguely eager. It was so out of place with his normally quiet, monotone speech.

“ _I can sense it…the Loophole has awoken…find it.”_

Jose nodded quickly.

“I will do so. We thank you for your constant assistance.”

The world was starting to fade back to normal, the white disappearing.

“See ya, God,” Luciano muttered, determined to not be made completely polite—even by _God_.

God hummed once again, that same broken off tune.

“ _Not yet…”_ he seemed to mumble from a distance. _“Not yet…the ReBalancing will come upon us…and then…”_

But he did not finish his sentence. And then God's realm was gone, and they were back in the repair chamber.

Neither of them spoke for a long, long moment. And then Jose stirred. He turned towards Placido's hovering, half body.

“I must finish his repairs,” he said. “Luciano. Go out. Find the Loophole.”

“Oh, sure,” Luciano said. “Why don't I just go comb the city for it. Could be anything. Or anyone. But yeah. I'll definitely find it; it'll be a cinch.”

Jose scowled at him, mouth opened to scold, but Luciano was already zooming away on his skates. He hummed that broken off tune to himself, testing it out.

It was really just a dumb kind of song, wasn't it?

 


	18. Aquila

He had the terrible, niggling sense that he was overlooking something.

Judai laid in bed and stared at the ceiling. It was too dark to make it out except as a looming shadow, staring down back at him. He shivered slightly. Sometimes, the dark still made him nervous. Over and over again, the threads of his predicament twisted around themselves. Yliaster wanted to “balance the world”—which had lead them to destroying Domino City in a flash of light and death. Fujiwara wanted to protect his kids—which lead to him trying to kill Team 5D's, and in particular…Yusei.

Judai's hands curled up into fists over his head, shaking against the pillows.

— _Fujiwara told me that “Yusei has to die”—_ Yubel had told him, after they had finally reunited. _—But he wouldn't say why—_

Judai groaned and rolled over onto his side.

The bed felt so _cold_ all of a sudden. He wished he was still on the couch. He had sat there for a few hours after Asuka and the others had told their story, with Yusei sitting next to him. Yusei had been insistent on staying until Judai was _positive_ that he wasn't going to be dizzy anymore. Judai had protested that he was fine, but Yusei insisted that Judai stay exactly where he was. He had picked up a paperback and just sat there reading, with one arm slung over Judai's shoulder to prevent him from getting up. Miffed, Judai had found himself simply sitting there, until his eyes began to droop from the warmth of Yusei's closeness and the exhaustion of the day. He wasn't sure how long he had slept there, but at some point Yusei had had to move and Judai had ended up slipping away to his room to think. But now, he just felt cold and lonely. Maybe he should have stayed on the couch…

He sighed and tried to close his eyes. He had a feeling that if he slept, he would dream again, and he didn't want to dream. He didn't want to fall into the darkness again or hear that reverberating voice asking him why it should help him. He squeezed his eyes shut, trying to shut out the thoughts, spinning and spinning, he was overlooking something, he was forgetting something, he was going to fail everyone. The child was crying again, crimson tears like blood as their veins glowed in strange, arcane symbols, sobbing as they begged Judai to save him, but save _who_ was the question—

“…Judai?”

Judai snapped up, his heart in his throat and his tongue dry. Had—had he been sleeping? The heaviness of his eyes made him think so, but he felt like it had only been a few seconds since he had closed his eyes. He blinked through the sleep for a moment, trying to figure out who had spoken.

When his vision cleared, he was surprised to see Aki standing in his door, looking concerned, one hand pressed to her heart and the other on the door frame. She looked almost ethereal, inhuman, with the backlight shining around her.

“I…” Judai said, and choked on his words. “Sorry…what's up?”

“I was just wondering if you were all right…” Aki said. “You were crying…in your sleep.”

Judai blinked a few times, and then realized she was right—his cheeks were wet. He rubbed at them furiously, trying to clean himself off before he sat up. He tried to smile.

“Just a bad dream,” he said. “Nothing serious. Sorry if I worried you.”

Before Aki could speak, pry anymore into something that Judai didn't even know the answers to himself, he quickly added,

“What about you, by the way? I didn't really get a chance to talk to you…how are you feeling?”

Aki shrugged.

“I don't feel any different,” she said. “It's like the crash…never happened.”

She hesitated.

“Although…” she whispered. “I feel…a buzz. Under my skin. Like…like something was there, vibrating in my chest…and then it was gone…leaving me with the aftershock.”

Her tongue flicked over her lips, and Judai wondered if her throat was feeling as dry as his. Judai slid to the side of the bed, patting the spot beside him.

“…need to talk about it?”

Aki hesitated. Her hand tightened on her breast.

“I…don't want to bother you.”

Judai shrugged.

“I don't want to sleep anyway.”

There was another breath. Then Aki sighed, and stepped into the room. She sat down gingerly on the edge of the bed, her hands dropping into her lap. For a moment, they just sat there. Judai stared at the wall across from him, his elbows on his knees, while Aki stared at her lap with her bangs falling over her eyes.

“While I was in the hospital,” she said, finally, “I had…dreams. Constantly. I don't really remember any of them anymore. Everything was so…white.”

She breathed out, an echo in the dark.

“I'm afraid to go back to sleep and see that again. It was…it burned. It felt like every inch of me was being scrubbed clean. And sometimes, I felt like—I was moving without trying. Like someone else was under my skin and walking for me.”

Judai's hands tightened around his knees.

“Yeah…” he murmured. “I know that feeling.”

Aki's lips tightened. Judai could see her hands shaking on her lap.

“Judai-kun…I don't know how much the others have told you about the Arcadia Movement…”

Judai shook his head.

“Not much. Just that it was a group of psychic duelists that you used to stay with.”

A shudder ran down Aki's entire body.

“…I was used,” she whispered. “It's taken me…a very long time to realize that. To really understand it.”

Her hands slipped up around her arms and tightened, a self-hug that seemed more to hold herself up than anything. Judai wondered if he should try to comfort her right now, touch her shoulder or something. Maybe she didn't want contact. He left his hands on his knees.

“He was using me,” Aki said, her voice almost hollow now. “It's taken me this long to really see it, but now I do—every second of every day, he was using me. Telling me in as many words that I was worthless, and the only person that would care for me was him. He…he gave me a home, preyed on my loneliness, and then jerked me around like a puppet on strings.”

Judai felt a cold hand tighten around his heart. His hands started to tremble as he remembered a woman with buzz cut hair and a sad, introspective face, who smiled as the man she loved crushed her to death. Aki choked for a moment, and she pressed one hand to her mouth. Her shoulders were shaking—Judai could see the sparkle of tears at the corners of her eyelashes, squeezed tightly together. He wanted to put his hand on her shoulder right then, to say something, but…he didn't know what.

“And god, I still love him sometimes. I see him in my dreams—I saw him in those white dreams, I saw him clearly for what he did to me, and I still loved him.”

Her hand dropped back into her lap, and her head fell back. Judai felt his heart jump in his chest, and this time, he did tentatively drop his fingers onto her shoulder. When she didn't flinch away, he slid his fingers to squeeze lightly.

“During those dreams, I felt it the worst…being dragged around. Used,” Aki said. “Something was using me while I was asleep, Judai. Something was in my head. I don't know why; I don't know if they had a good reason but…”

She swallowed thickly, and she finally turned her eyes towards Judai. Her walnut eyes were thick and glazed with tears, but her jaw was set firm.

“I won't be used anymore, Judai,” she said, and her voice was even now. “Whatever happens next, I will not be used.”

Judai tightened his grip on Aki's shoulder. He smiled.

“Good,” he said. “That's a good conclusion.”

Aki's lips flickered a smile for a moment. She hesitated a second longer. Then she sighed, letting her head drop forward.

“I'm so tired,” she mumbled. “God.”

She laughed lightly, and the sound was enough for Judai's stomach to unknot. A smile grew over his lips, too.

“Okay,” Aki said, turning her face towards him, bangs slipping over her face. “Your turn.”

“Huh?” Judai said.

“Come on, I spilled my guts, now it's your turn,” she said, punching him lightly on the knee. “What's keeping you awake this time?”

 _It's too cold_ , Judai thought automatically. But, no, that wasn't the root problem. He sighed, leaning back on his hands and letting his head fall to look up towards the ceiling.

“I have nightmares pretty much all the time,” he said. “I did some fucked up shit when I was younger…”

Aki let out a breath.

“Same,” she muttered.

Judai grinned hollowly.

“I don't want to play the 'who had it worse' game, but I'm pretty sure whatever you did didn't hold a candle to what I did,” he said. “No offense.”

“I'll let you leave it at that,” Aki said, flicking her bangs from her eyes.

Judai sighed again, letting his eyes slide back up to the ceiling.

“I…I feel like I'm going to fail again,” he said. “I've failed the people I care about so many times. In terrible, terrible ways. People I loved died because I wasn't paying enough attention to them. Because I was too wrapped up in my own goddamn thoughts.”

He swallowed, eyes closing for just a moment. But when they did, he could see the faces of his friends screaming at him from that faraway stone podium, exploding into lights and vanished into the tome of darkness on the other side of his field. He quickly opened his eyes.

“I'm afraid that I'm going to miss things again,” he whispered. “That I'm overlooking something. Missing a piece. I keep thinking…I can't stop thinking. But am I still not paying enough attention? Am I forgetting something important? One slip-up, and people end up dead.”

Aki didn't respond. For a moment, they just sat there in the darkness, sitting in silence. Aki finally stirred, shifting on the bed.

“Judai-kun, what I'm going to say next is going to sound a little harsh, but bear with me,” she said. “Stop giving yourself so much credit.”

Judai blinked. His head flopped back down to look at Aki, shocked for a moment out of his thoughts.

“…huh?”

“I mean it,” Aki said. “You're not the only brain around here, you know…that's why we're working together. So that we can _all_ look at all of the pieces.”

She cocked her head.

“In other words, you don't have to do everything yourself. Let the rest of us help. That's why you have friends…so that we can all help each other.”

Judai found his lips parting and his mouth falling open slowly as Aki kept talking. He…he hadn't thought about it like that. Why hadn't he thought about it like that?

Aki's lip quirked up on one side into half a smile. She sighed, and stood up with a ripple of her skirt. She stood there for a moment, the light from the hallway spilling across her back and outlining her in light. Her eyes glittered faintly in the dark as she looked down at him.

“You're not alone,” she said. “Don't forget that. We're in this _together_.”

The words felt like a soft tap of a fist against his gut—not enough to take his breath away, but enough to make him completely alert to what was happening. Then she turned, and stepped quietly across the floor towards the door. Her feet slid to a pause at the threshold, hand holding her against the door.

“Ah,” she breathed for a moment. “Now I know what you remind me of…Yusei's like this too. Always trying to do everything himself. Trying not to bother anyone else…trying to take the world on his shoulders.”

Judai blinked. He felt a tiny flush grow over his cheeks. Her head tilted back towards Judai, the strands fluttering across her face, outlined in shining highlights of blood red. She seemed, for a moment, like she was about to speak. Then her lips closed again, and she shook her head. She looked…sad, all of a sudden.

“Aki?” Judai said.

She bit her lip. Then her head turned quickly back towards the hall, staring down at the floor.

“You two…need to take care of each other,” she said after a beat. “Promise me…that, at least? That you two will take care of each other.”

She hesitated just a half second longer, just long enough for Judai's mouth to open, but not long enough for a word to escape his throat. Then she was gone, and Judai was staring at an afterimage of her shadow against the light, burned against his retinas for a breath. He just sat there for a moment, trying to process what had just happened.

At the back of his head, Yubel snorted.

— _You're terrible—_ she said.

“Huh?” Judai said. “What are you talking about? What did I do?”

But Yubel didn't respond, settling herself back into the silence of his subconscious. Judai blinked once, huffing slightly. _Promise her to take care of Yusei, huh…well, that's not really a hard promise. I was already planning on doing that…_

His hands tightened in his lap. It was still…really cold.

He found himself wishing, once again, that he was back on the couch beside Yusei, listening to his heart beat steadily, soothingly, feeling his warm arm over his shoulder. His head dropped slowly, his hands coming up to support his forehead. He pressed the heels of his hands to his eyes.

_It's so cold…_

His thoughts were swirling again. Twisting and turning over each other once more. Thinking and thinking. What was he forgetting? What was he missing?

“ _You don't have to do everything yourself. Let us help.”_

It was so late, though…if he did what he really wanted to do right now, and went to wake up Yusei to try and talk to him about all these thoughts, Yusei would probably tell him that he just needed to rest. But Judai couldn't, he couldn't rest. He had to stay awake, to think, or he was going to fall back into dreams again—either the one about the darkness, or the even stranger one about the child with the crimson tears…

“ _Take care of each other.”_

“ _Please, you have to save him.”_

Judai's breath caught in his throat and he choked.

 _Oh_ god.

He was running, then, scrambling over his own feet, tripping and falling and skidding his knees across the ground as he barreled for Yusei's room. He heard Aki say something as he stumbled past the extra guest room she had been borrowing for the night, but he was moving too quickly, his heart was pounding in his ears because he had to get to Yusei, he had to tell him—

Yusei was already stirring at the sound of Judai's pounding feet as Judai skidded across the floor in his socks.

“Yusei!” Judai gasped. “Yusei!”

“J-Judai…?” Yusei mumbled, squinting through the dark. “What…what time is it…?”

Crow was stirring too, rubbing his eyes and moaning under his breath, mumbling some incoherent thing about pasta. Judai didn't think, he just tumbled across the room and gripped Yusei's shoulders, effectively jerked Yusei to full alertness. Yusei's hand immediately grabbed Judai's against his shoulder, gripping him and steadying him, a warm pulse of reassurance.

“Judai, what's wrong? What happened?”

“I remember, I remembered something, I know how I got to the future the first time—I think I've been going in a loop, but somehow I had to start that loop by getting here the first time and I remember who sent me forward in the first place—”

“Judai, slow down, breathe, you're okay…”

“The twins! Where are they? They're still at home, right? Is Shou still with them?”

“They're fine, and yes, that's where they are, and yes, he's still there as far as I know, but why…”

And then Yusei's breath caught in his throat. His eyes widened and he seemed to understand what Judai was saying.

“You mean…the way you came here, to the future…”

“Yeah,” Judai said, feeling his whole body run cold. “Yeah.”

He swallowed once. Yusei's face whitened.

“It was him,” Judai mumbled. “It—it was Lua. Lua brought me here.”

. . .

Luka pressed her face to the window, hoping the cold glass would make her feel…something. But all she really registered was that the glass was _cold_ against her cheek, and she couldn't see very many stars tonight. She had always resented this view. She didn't deserve it. What had she done to deserve living in the topmost penthouse of Tops, and then have the gall to not enjoy a moment of it? There were a thousand and more people who would kill for a chance to live the life she did, and all she could do was feel hollow. The house was too big, too cold, too empty, and the sky was no comfort. She felt no joy from seeing the city lights from this high up. It was all so far away. Untouchable. Unreachable. Here, there was only loneliness…and then guilt for that loneliness. What right did she have to feel these things? She ought to feel lucky.

She swallowed thickly, feeling a strange lump in her throat that wouldn't go away.

Shou was sleeping on the couch. Luka had offered him their parents' unused room, but Shou had politely declined. Luka knew it was because he wanted to be closer to the twins' room, in case…something happened again.

Luka shuddered as she remembered that moment, hands pressing against the glass for support.

Waking up on the couch somehow, her couch, and not the cold pavement she had expected after that explosion of red light. Lua, standing at the window, his back to her.

Lua turning around, and his eyes glowing red and hollow at her, like there was something _else_ staring out of her brother's body, like her brother wasn't even there. She had scrambled off the couch, run to him, gripped his shoulders, said his name over and over. _“What's wrong, what's happened to you, what do you mean it's your fault? What's your fault?”_ That had been all Lua was able to say, over and over _“this is all my fault. This is all my fault. This is all my fault.”_

And then, all of a sudden, as Shou groaned and started to sit up, Lua's skin had become fire. Luka had screamed, released him, stumbled back with her hands red and burnt as the red lines starting coursing down Lua's entire body, swirling under his skin like strange, glowing veins. Shou had sworn, sat up to catch Luka as she fell, briefly checked her hands before glancing up at Lua, who was just standing there, glowing and shaking with his mouth hanging open and tears streaming down his face, heat waves rippling off of him and a haze of crimson fire billowing over him briefly.

And then it was over. The lights faded, Lua's eyes deadened back to their ordinary color, and he had slumped, unconscious to the floor.

Lua was asleep, now…he hadn't woken up since everything had happened.

Luka pressed her forehead to the glass and closed her eyes.

 _Why aren't you here right now?_ she thought towards the faraway concept of her mother and father. _Why were you always gone when we needed you? Why can't you just…talk to us? Tell us what's going on?_

She didn't even know where her mother was at this point. Her father was trying to kill her friends, and but Judai's description it sounded like he was possessed. What about mom? Where had she gone? And if her father was trying to kill everyone, and had been out and about fighting Yliaster all this time like Shou had explained, then what about the letters they had gotten? Were any of them real?

How long had her parents been lying to them?

Her fingers curled against the glass.

 _I hate you_ , she thought at her father, tears bubbling in her eyes and a lump rising in her throat. She felt shaky, unstable. She was probably about to have an attack. She could feel it like a buzz at the back of her eyes. She should sit down; in case the seizure was bad enough for her to fall. She didn't, though. She stood there leaning against the glass, eyes closed as spots flared behind her eyelids, and almost wished that she'd have a bad enough seizure to go into a coma again. Then maybe she wouldn't have to deal with any of this until it was over.

She felt something brush against her. Her fingers dropped automatically against the solid bulk of Sunlight Unicorn. The unicorn nosed her head gently, tenderly. She could feel Kuribon snuggling against her feet. Her throat tightened.

“Thank you,” she mumbled. “Thank you…”

Sunlight Unicorn shoved its head underneath Luka's arm as she opened her eyes to see them. The unicorn blinked at her with big black eyes. They whiffled softly through their nose, into Luka's face. _Sit down_ , was the clear message. _Before you have an attack and hit your head._

“Fine,” she mumbled.

Sunlight Unicorn let her lean on them as she slowly slid down to the floor, shaking. She could feel her consciousness lifting away from herself. It didn't feel like a bad one…she should probably be back to herself in a few minutes, and with Sunlight Unicorn to lean on, she should be fine.

She wasn't sure how long she was gone before her eyes snapped back into focus, and she looked around, dizzy. What happened? Where was she? Oh…all right, she hadn't moved…she was fine.

And then she saw her brother in the reflection of the window, standing in the door of their room. Luka choked on her breath—Lua looked so…small all of a sudden. His face was drawn, white, hands shaking as he gripped the door frame.

“Lu…ka…” he whispered. “I think…something's wrong with me…”

Luka scrambled to her feet, pushing off of Sunlight Unicorn's back for support. She stumbled across the room towards Lua, almost falling when she reached him.

“You're okay,” she said. “You're okay, okay?”

She held his shoulders and guided him carefully to the ground. She could feel every tremble of every muscle—he looked so scared.

“Y-You're okay, you're just…you're doing the thing I do, when you fade out for a few minutes. You're okay.”

“N-no, that's not it,” Lua mumbled. “I…Luka…”

He swallowed, and tears bubbled in his eyes.

“I'm sorry,” he said. “I'm…I'm supposed to protect you, Luka…I'm not…good enough…”

“No, Lua!” Luka said, shaking her head as fast as she could. “No, no, you've always—you've always protected me, you've always taken care of me but—it's okay, it's my turn, okay? It's my turn—because we have to protect each other!”

She felt tears bubbling in her throat and with a sob she threw her arms around Lua's shoulders, holding him tightly, the way he always did for her when he saw she was about to have an attack. _“A big hug will make you feel safe!”_ he always said. _“I'll be right here until you come back! Okay?”_

“I'll be right here until you come back,” Luka mumbled, squeezing him tighter. “Okay?”

Lua buried his face into Luka's shoulder. She felt his tears staining into her shirt sleeve, and pressed him to her even tighter.

“I'm scared,” he mumbled. “I'm sorry.”

“It's okay,” she said.

“Luka…when—when you have your attack…do you feel like…something's missing?”

Luka hesitated. She…wasn't sure how to respond.

“What do you mean?”

Lua swallowed and his arms tightened around Luka's waist.

“It—I feel different,” he said. “Like…like I'm missing pieces of myself. Like I'm…not…whole…”

He was trembling so badly that it was a wonder he hadn't literally fallen to pieces,

“It's okay,” Luka said, feeling her throat tighten. What did that mean? She didn't understand. What Lua was saying, it didn't mean anything to her. “Sometimes—sometimes you feel weird things when you're having an attack. It—it's called disassociation. It's normal. It's okay to feel weird.”

Lua shook his head against Luka's shoulder.

“N-no, this is different,” he said. “I mean—where is the rest of me, Luka? Why do I feel like…like I've been…broken off of something…?”

And then Luka felt the heat again, pulsing gently under Lua's skin. She almost flinched—her hands still smarted from the burn against Lua's skin the first time. She could feel the heat growing around her, tightening, making it harder to breathe. She almost let go of Lua, almost scrambled away.

But then she held him tighter.

No.

She wasn't letting go. Even if it burned her, even if it killed her, she wasn't letting go of him. Not when he was like this.

The heat was growing, intensifying, Luka could see a red haze staining across her vision again. The heat was _oppressive_ , sucking the air out of her, squeezing her lungs, burning against her skin, but she would not let go, she wouldn't let go even if it burnt her to a crisp—

She heard Shou swear behind her. Heard him say her name, scramble to his feet and clatter towards them. Luka would not let go, not even if he grabbed her, she refused—

She felt it, then…a coolness. Spreading from her right arm, the mark against her skin, that was starting to glow as if resonating. Something slick spread from the talon mark, like a layer of thin, oily water, spreading over her skin, insulating her from the heat. She could breathe again, she realized. She could see.

Automatically, as though drawn by an unseen force, her eyes dropped down towards Lua's right arm.

There was something glowing there.

Something…

Like a Signer mark.

. . .

Johan Andersen had been bustling around the room for the better part of six hours now. Jack had fallen asleep on and off, still refusing to move from the chair, despite the efforts of four separate nurses and two doctors telling him that visiting hours were over. Jack had been ready to fight them off and lock the door behind them, but Johan had slid quickly between them and flashed a large, winning smile. Two seconds later, they were left alone, and after doing that a few more times, they stopped being bothered.

Jack snorted to himself. There was something…odd about this man. Something like…like the feeling you might get if you walked into a quiet forest glade one with a spring and a waterfall and birds chirping, and you suddenly felt an overwhelming aura of peace. Jack didn't quite trust it—people that made him feel at ease right away were people that you needed to be wary of.

But Johan, as of yet, hadn't done anything to make Jack feel justified in not trusting him. Except, well, being strange as hell. Every time Jack startled back awake, Johan was talking to the air, or waving his hands over Carly and frowning, mumbling something about a positively horrendous mess of threads, it would take hours to untangle. Sometimes, Jack would feel something brush against his leg again, or his arm, and Johan would scold the air, telling someone—Amethyst, or Topaz, or _“especially you Amber”_ —to be careful where they were walking, Mr. Atlas couldn't see them.

Jack realized subconsciously that this man was like Luka—able to see spirits. But consciously he wasn't really thinking about it. He was thinking about how the man had said he would be able to help Carly, but so far, he hadn't been doing much.

“Ah!” Johan said, startling Jack out of a doze once again. “Finally! Now that was a job and a half. Thanks, Cobalt, I wouldn't have spotted that one without you.”

He once again stroked something invisible for a beat, his other hand pinching the air as though holding up a string.

“What?” Jack demanded, sitting forward in his chair. “What did you find? What the hell have you been doing this whole time?”

It was a question he had asked several times during the course of the evening, and not once had Johan seemed to be fully paying attention enough to answer, giving some wave of his hand or incoherent mumbled answer that made no sense. Jack was trying hard not to look at Carly's unconscious face, with the breathing mask strapped over it. He didn't want to remember how much was at stake.

Johan grinned, a little sheepishly as he rubbed the back of his neck with his free hand.

“Sorry, I get in the zone sometimes with this,” he said. “I was sorting through her fate threads, to try and figure out what was wrong. She's not just in an ordinary coma, you see, and I had to try and locate the problem.”

He shook his head.

“Never seen anyone with a tangle as bad as hers. Well, I'm sure Judai probably has one worse, but I couldn't see fate threads yet the last time I saw him, so I can't judge…poor girl's been through quite a lot, eh?”

Jack bit the inside of his cheek.

“…yes,” he said, glancing at her, the way her hair was brushed neatly across the pillow, shimmering like oil in the dark. “She's been through…a lot.”

Johan nodded, his eyes softening.

“Well…anyway,” he said. “It looks like…well, something happened, something that frightened her so badly, that her soul withdrew in order to protect itself.”

“Her soul…what?” Jack said.

“It's like when a turtle gets scared, and pulls its head in,” Johan said, gesturing vaguely at the air. “Her soul saw something…she has some form of Sight, correct? I thought so. So her inner eye caught a glimpse of something and withdrew, in self-defense.”

“So…what do we do, then?” Jack said. His eyes dropped to her again and for a moment, he tried to think of what he would do if she never woke up.

Johan's tongue flicked over his lips.

“Ah right,” he said. “That's where you come in.”

Jack blinked, his eyes jumping back up to Johan.

“What do you mean?”

“Someone's got to go into her mindscape and coax her back out,” Johan said. “Try to calm her down and convince her that it's okay to wake up.”

He pulled on that invisible thing he was holding, biting his lip for a moment as he considered her.

“But me? Why me?” Jack said. “I—she won't want to see me. I'm not good at…comforting people.”

Johan shrugged.

“You can say that if you want, but I don't know her. I can't just waltz into her mind if she doesn't know who I am. Besides…” and here, he plucked at something else that Jack couldn't see. “This red string of fate would disagree with the part where you say she doesn't want to see you.”

Jack started, feeling his heart quicken. He glanced down at her, and then at his own pinkie. Red string of fate? What kind of superstitious bullshit was that…?

His hand immediately twitched towards the sign on his arm, and he licked his dry lips again. Okay. Superstitious occult shit…probably. But so was the rest of his goddamn life.

He swallowed. Again, his treacherous mind asked the question _“what will you do if she doesn't wake up?”_ He took a deep, steadying breath.

“Fine,” he said. “What do I do?”

Johan flashed that large, winning smile of his.

“Come over here,” he said, beckoning. “I'm going to temporarily help you see the threads, so that you can follow it into her mindscape.”

Jack rose from his seat. He grunted as his knees cracked and his back groaned in protest. Hell, but he had been sitting for a long time. He wobbled on still shaky legs around the bed to stand next to Johan. Johan placed his free hand onto Jack's shoulder, then held up the one that was still pinching the invisible string.

“Now listen,” he warned. “Mindscapes are treacherous. There are loose thoughts everywhere, and if you're not careful, you'll forget yourself and get lost inside. Once you're in, keep hold of the thread I give you, and don't lose it. It will lead you straight to where her soul is hiding.”

Jack nodded, feeling his throat go dry. He couldn't even come up with any retorts, any scathing remarks. It was really hitting him that this was it—this was the only way to save Carly. Johan took Jack's hand and turned it palm up. He pressed the invisible thread into Jack's hand. Jack gasped—there was a tingle. A brief spark of static that made his spine shudder.

“You should be able to call your ka spirit while you're in there, too,” Johan said. “Your Duel Monster partner, that is.  It will protect you…anything could happen in the mindscape, okay? Make sure you keep your wits about you.”

“Fine, right, I've got it,” Jack snapped. “Can we get going?”

Johan nodded. He took a deep breath, and then pressed one finger to Jack's forehead.

“This will hurt a bit,” he said. “So hang on—”

And then there was a sudden, wrenching static shock piercing through Jack brain and he choked.

The floor went out from under him and he was just _falling_.

And then everything went black.

. . .

Luciano hesitated at the top of the building. He had been jumping from roof to roof for the past few hours, mostly just because he could, and it sort of counted as him looking for the Loophole. Like, where did God even expect him to start? It wasn't like Luciano even knew what he was looking for. It could be a person, a building, a machine, hell, it could be an old boot for all he knew. It wasn't like it was just gonna pop up in a flash and bang and say, “oh, look at me, I'm a Loophole”—

And then there was a spark.

Luciano's breath caught in his throat. What…what was that humming sound? It sounded a little like that song that God had been humming, but actually in tune, although it skipped notes and the tempo kept changing every few seconds. He could feel a heat pulsing at his back. Where was it coming from?

His eyes turned towards the city skyline, and alighted on the tallest building in the city. The Tops building…he thought. Wasn't that where…

A smile exploded over his face.

Oh, sweet God, it couldn't be that obvious and easy, was it? Was _that_ why that green-haired dope was so desperate to stop them?

Luciano kicked his rollerblades into gear, and skidded down the side of the building.

Perhaps this was going to be easier than he thought.

. . .

Fujiwara felt it. It was a wrenching feeling, jerking through him like a hook lodged in his spine and yanked by some unknown force. His throat went dry and his hands started to shake.

Oh no. Oh, god no.

Why hadn't he killed Jack Atlas while he had had the chance??

. . .

A/N: well…it's late but I didn't make you guys wait as long as I usually do so…yay me? ;w; Lots of stuff happening…we're gonna have a bit of a commotion again. No rest for the weary protags, eh? Don't worry, they'll get their downtime after a bit more SufferingTM XD

Hope you enjoyed, next chapter should be up by next Saturday if I can learn to keep a schedule! :'D

 

 

 


	19. Andromeda

“I didn't know you were still here.”

“Of course I am. I'm you.”

“No…you're not though…you were…”

“What? I was the hummingbird?”

“Yeah…”

“That doesn't change the fact that I'm you, too.”

“I…I don't understand.”

It was like looking into a mirror. Except her mirror self had feathers for hair, smooth and black down her back. Her mirror self had thin, delicate wings of black feathers tucked against her back. Her mirror self had bright blue eyes that shone within a pool of black. They were a difficult gaze to keep, and she kept dropping her eyes to the ground.

“But you were the dark god…you forced me to fight against Jack.”

“It was your choice, at first, you know. I only helped a little.”

“But—when I stopped wanting to fight—you took over—”

“That wasn't me. That was the darkness that was part of all of us.”

Carly shook her head.

“I don't understand.”

The other Carly shrugged.

“I am the hummingbird. You are Carly. You are the hummingbird. I am Carly. They both mean the same thing. We are the same, now. You kept me when you can back.”

Carly swallowed.

“What about the others? Kiryu…and Misty…?”

“No. Just you. You're the only one who decided to keep the darker part of yourself.”

“Why?”

“How should I know? If you don't, I don't either. I'm you, remember?”

Carly moaned and held her head in her hands.

“We don't make any sense.”

“You're the one making this difficult.”

“W-why am I even here? Why did I come to this—wherever this is? Why did I come? And why are you _still here_?”

“I came here because I saw something that scared me—that scared us. We heard something, and it showed us something, and we didn't like it.”

“But what was it?”

“I don't remember. It's all too blurry right now. Too jumbled.”

Carly squinted at her mirror image, but found that it was gone, and she was talking herself. But some reason, in this world, that seemed perfectly normal.

“I had to get away from what I saw,” she mumbled.

“But I also have to tell them what I saw.”

“And figure out why I brought the hummingbird with me…why I made it part of me…”

“Yes, that's something I have to figure out too.”

“It has something…something to do with Darkness, right? I needed to bring it back. So that I could tell someone something about it.”

“That sounds right. And the hummingbird agreed. It didn't want to die. It agreed to become a part of me when I came back.”

“I have to remember…I have to remember why I brought the darkness back with me. I have to remember what I saw when I heard…that song…”

She stopped talking. Her voice stopped echoing around the space. It was only then that she felt clear headed to look around, to realize that…she couldn't see anything. Not like it was dark, but like…like nothing was there at all.

_Where am I?_

_How do I get back?_

_Someone…please…help me…_

. . .

Things didn't make sense here. It was like floating through clouds of black over a wide, blank desert, no separation between the ground and the sky. Everything was a solid gray, splattered with wisps of thick black smoke.

_Is this…really Carly's mindscape?_

Jack wasn't sure what he had expected but it wasn't this. It felt…cold. Distant…emotionless. Words that he did not associate with Carly in the slightest.

An echo twisted around him like a breeze. He couldn't quite catch the words, but there was a tiny laugh at the end of them, and it felt somehow eerie in the landscape. He shuddered. Then he shook his head, growling to himself.

_Don't get distracted. Find Carly, get out._

But how? Where was he supposed to look first?

A warmth bloomed at his hand, like something small and hot tightening around the base of his pinkie. He glanced down and the color actually blinded him for a second. The red thread almost glowed against the otherwise colorless landscape. It glowed as though it were made of candlelight, a soft red diffusing across the black and gray on either side. Jack tugged on it experimentally and it swished lazily in the air. He turned around to see where it was leading…there.

It didn't look any different than the rest of this incomprehensible landscape, but he could see the red thread glowing against it, leading off into the distance and disappearing in a cloud of black. He sucked in a breath, squared his shoulders, tightened his fists at his sides, and stalked after the thread.

It never seemed to get any extra slack. It never felt tight, but it should start to collect as he walked towards it, right? Instead, it seemed to only shrink along with his movements, growing shorter as he grew closer to its end. Not that he could see the end…he felt like he should be able to see for miles in this place, but despite the wide, faraway horizon, he could never really comprehend more than a few feet at a time.

More echoes flickered past him. Sometimes he could pick out a word or two, a laugh, a soft sob. They were getting a little clearer as he moved on, and he realized suddenly that it was _Carly's_ voice.

“ _want to…article…smile!”_

He heard the tiniest click like a camera going off but then that memory was past him and it disappeared. He felt his heart leap and almost turned back around. What had that memory been? He almost recognized it; recognized the tone of her voice as she asked someone to smile for the camera. Had it been him, maybe? She always tried to take pictures of him—he had always found ways to get out of them. He felt his heart clench at the thought—how many times had he brushed her off? He wanted to whip around and chase the thought, grab it, force himself back into the memory and make his past self smile for the goddamn picture.

Something stopped him from turning around, though. A tightening of the red string around his finger.

 _Don't stop_ , it seemed to whisper. _Don't stop. Don't lose the thread._

He let the thought go on without him, disappearing behind. He kept walking.

The world seemed to be getting a little bit warmer. Or was he imagining it? Images flashed at the corners of his eyes now. Thoughts echoed louder, and rattled around in his own head as though they were her own—his, _his_ own, why had he suddenly changed pronouns—

“ _You could lose yourself in there. Be careful.”_

Johan's words echoed alongside the other thoughts. He heard his own voice a few times echo back at him—was it from Carly's memories, or were his own thoughts leaking out into the landscape around him? It was definitely getting warmer. The clouds were starting to clear and the ground had changed from gray and featureless to the soft roll of grass. The images were still flittering in the corners of his eyes. He felt bile rising up in his throat, feeling suddenly sick and dizzy from the lights and sounds and images that clattered around him. He couldn't even make sense of them even though they were loud and clear, he couldn't understand what was being said or seen, every now and then he caught the glint of light off of a pair of glasses and he could have sworn that Carly was standing in front of him, or running away and disappearing like mist, but it was only another memory whipping past him.

_Carly. Just…think of Carly._

He had to make it to her. No matter what, he had to make it to the real Carly, not just a memory. He had to bring her back. No matter what it took, he had to bring her back.

How fast was he moving? How long had he been walking? He didn't even know. He felt like the world was streaking past him. Every now and then he felt as though his legs were suddenly shorter, or like his whole body was suddenly younger and he was scampering after the thread as a ten-year-old again before he snapped back to normal.

And then like a whip cracking through the air, everything snapped into focus.

Jack gasped for air. His lungs filled up greedily—had he not been breathing? He felt as though he had just been underwater and finally surfaced. He came to a stop, coughing in between thick, desperate breaths. His eyes watered up from the force of his coughs and even though the world was finally clear and open to him, he couldn't see for a moment.

Finally, he blinked his eyes clear. Squinting, he found himself standing in a suddenly very dark, very black place. It was like the ground had been burnt to a crisp, and the sky was heavy with clouds over head. Debris from buildings littered the ground, and he could see the spires of half demolished skyscrapers painting the horizon.

His heart clenched cold. He knew this place.

This was where Carly had died.

The red thread still floated in the air, weaving gently back and forth in a nonexistent breeze. He rolled his hand into a fist to press it tightly between his fingers, suddenly and irrationally afraid that it would dissolve or disappear. He should keep walking. Carly must be close; he was getting into places he recognized.

And then he heard the tiniest cough. Like someone trying to catch his attention. His head jerked up. He scanned the sky, eyes flashing across the horizon, the ground, looking for the source of the sound. Had it only been another memory? No, this one had sounded real, not like a disappearing breeze or echo.

His eyes fixed on the shadow that sat perched on top of a ruined building foundation. He could feel his throat drying up even as his eyes ran up her legs crossed over themselves, dangling over the edge, her hands resting lightly on the ledge on either side of her, the black fabric that lay across her knees, her hair like oil shimmering down and blending into her cape.

Dark eyes staring at him, a bright blue in pools of black.

 _Oh, god…no…_ please…

Dark Signer Carly looked down at him from her height, cold and impassive. She sniffed softly.

“You shouldn't be here,” she said.

And then from behind her, the dark forms of the Fortune Ladies rose up, silhouetted against the sky, their staffs raised. Jack could feel the red string of fate burning around his pinkie.

. . .

“You're absolutely positive??”

Judai knew that Yusei already understood how positive Judai was, but also knew that Yusei was just trying to understand it himself.

“Yes,” he shouted back over the wind. “It was Lua—I remember it now, I remember it so clearly—he was the one that came to me and brought me to the future the first time.”

 _Although I'm not entirely sure about the next few times…_ he thought to himself. But he hadn't yet brought up the idea of time loops to anyone and he wasn't sure how—he'd just have to make sure this was the last loop. Or something.

The world sped by them in a blur of black and neon lights. If Judai hadn't been panicking, he might enjoy the feeling of the wind ripping past them as they sped through a nighttime city, but as it was now, he didn't even have the time to really enjoy having Yusei so close to him again. He could have easily been on his own motorcycle, but when they ran down to the garage at Judai's urging that they get to the twins as soon as possible, Yusei had told him flatly that there was no way in hells he was letting Judai on his own motorcycle yet. So here Judai was, the side of his face plastered to Yusei's back as he clung so tightly that he was wondering why Yusei hadn't told him to loosen up yet.

He couldn't help it—he was _scared._ And Yusei's solid bulk in his arms, a stable presence that was warm despite the cutting evening wind, was enough to make him at least remember to breathe. He gripped Yusei a little tighter, and for a moment, he thought he felt Yusei's hand brush against his on his chest. Was that a sign for him to loosen up? He wasn't choking Yusei, was he? But then he tried to loosen his arms, and Yusei's hand snapped on top of his again, tightening around the top of his fist.

 _Don't let go_ , the hand seemed to be saying, but Yusei wasn't able to speak.

Judai didn't. He gripped Yusei again, pressed his forehead to his back, and tried not to panic any further.

He could hear the screech of cars on the highway, the almost melodic hum of Yusei's motorcycle and Aki's and Crow's behind them—Aki hadn't been asleep yet when Judai had barreled down the hall, and Crow was awake within seconds, and they hadn't been about to be left behind. Judai was glad for that; he felt anxious enough with Jack not being within sight what with Fujiwara out and about trying to kill people. He wasn't entirely sure where Asuka and Manjoume had gone, but suspected they had someplace else to sleep and had left sometime during the time that Judai had passed out.

One way or another he didn't have time to contact them, so it was just going to have to be him and part of the Signers for now.

Another hum reached his ears, the strange melodic tune of a D-Wheel running somewhere up ahead. When had they started to sound like songs to him? And why did it feel like each bike had its own, unique tune, dancing just out of reach of his ears. He lifted his head and squinted through the flashing of lights speeding past them for the source of the sound. He scanned the Duel Lanes, the regular driver lanes, the ground below…

His eyes lifted up towards a higher lane and that's when he saw it—the blur of deep maroon and the flash of almost cartoon like eyes that glowed like headlights. Judai didn't know how unique D-Wheels were usually, but at this point in time he had seen only a single D-Wheel with a cartoon face like that. Shou!

“Yusei!” Judai shouted, shaking him slightly to get his attention. “Yusei, exit—exit here!”

“What? Why?”

“Shou! I just saw him—up there! He was with the twins!”

Yusei swore. He smacked his turn signal just a second before he dove across two lanes and into the exit, cutting off three cars. A cacophony of horn blares followed after them, and then another wave came that told Judai that Aki and Crow had made the dive too. Yusei leaned into the curve as they spun up and around to the higher lane. Judai had to lean tightly into Yusei's back and squeeze his legs into the bike to make sure he wouldn't fall.

Then they were diving out into the lane, cutting off another truck which immediately sat on its horn at them. Judai peered around Yusei's shoulder and saw the flash of Shou's back lights—he hadn't been wrong, that was Shou's D-Wheel, and there was a sidecar on it now, one that had two small heads in helmets. And one of the helmets was sporting two small pigtails bouncing in the wind—Luka.

Yusei stomped on his gas and exploded forward at a speed that probably shouldn't have been physically possible. Horns followed their path as Yusei wove in and out—reckless, Judai would have said, if there wasn't such an awe-inducing _grace_ to every movement Yusei made. It was like he was the motorcycle itself, or even just _speed_ itself, barely flicking his hands into each turn and molding to the wind like he was a minnow darting easily around rocks in a stream. It was like the cars and other bikes weren't even on the same plane of existence as him.

In the space of a breath, Yusei had pulled them alongside Shou. The man's head jerked up and flashed towards them, his eyes glittering in streetlights behind his glasses, wide with shock. Judai leaned over past Yusei's shoulder.

“Shou!” he shouted. “What's wrong; what's happened?”

Shou fumbled a moment with his helmet, and then his voice broke through on Judai's helmet headset.

“It's Lua!” he panted. “I don't know what's wrong—he's burning up so badly, he's actually hot to the touch, only Luka can get close to him—going to hospital—”

Judai tried to peer over top of Shou to see into the sidecar on the other side. Yusei had already anticipated this somehow and immediately dropped back in speed to slip around Shou from behind, coming up along the other side in a beat.

Judai couldn't explain what he was seeing. Lua was _glowing_ , but it was almost like…like it was his blood that had suddenly become neon, the glow coming from just below his skin and dancing in irregular, fiery patterns. Even from here, Judai could feel the waves of heat radiating off of him, could see his head lolled back and his mouth hanging half open, his eyes wide. Crimson tears rolled down his cheeks.

_Crimson tears._

Exactly like in the dreams he had had.

Judai felt his blood run cold despite the heat. Lua was nestled back against Luka, who looked just as strange to Judai. Her skin was coated with what looked like a thin layer of something oily and silver. Almost as though she were coated in a thin sheet of water that somehow remained in place around her. Her Signer mark pulsed rapidly, as though it were matching a too-quick heartbeat. She looked up at Judai with tears in her eyes, her bottom lip trembling.

“I-I don't know what to do,” her voice echoed over the headset. “He's not responding anymore. He's—he's having an attack, a big one, like the one I had when I went into a coma and I don't know what to do—”

Judai tried to resist the urge to swear—he didn't know any more than Luka did.

“Keep driving,” he shouted at Shou. “I don't know what the hospital can do, but I'm better off looking over him somewhere without fucking cars everywhere.”

Shou only nodded and buckled his hands down harder on his handles.

Now that they were going at Shou's speed, it was like the wind was almost dead. Compared to the nearly skin-ripping speeds that Judai had become used to on Yusei's bike, he felt chafed and stuck. They had to go _faster_! He needed to look at Lua _right now!_ Where was Asuka? Manjoume? He wanted them around, he needed to be able to talk to them, see what they could know about this. Why had Fujiwara sealed Lua's powers away? Judai was almost positive that he was reacting so badly because he was blocked—his power needed to learn how to flow, needed to learn how to circulate correctly. Without that learning, with just the seal forcing it down, it was like trying to block off blood circulation—it was going to build up and then explode, and it could possibly kill him.

If Lua was going to live, Judai needed to find out a way to remove the seal. But if he did that, Lua's power could easily overwhelm him, or worse, kill anyone weaker that was near him. The hospital seemed like a terrible place for something like that to happen, but they needed to stop somewhere, and maybe Judai could find a way to contain Lua's power, or help him figure out how to release it slowly, something, anything, god, why were they so _slow!_

“Duel starting. Duel starting. All normal vehicles must exit the lane.”

Yusei swore loudly.

“Fuck, why _now_?” he shouted. “This was the fastest—”

And then his voice died in his throat because the lane had just opened far too late for them to exit, and they were twisting into the Duel Lane, presumably right in front of the gung-ho idiots that wanted to play a fucking card game at three in the morning. Goddammit!

They had no choice but to keep going. Yusei swore again and Judai could hear Luka sobbing in his headset. Judai glanced back over his shoulder—well, at least Aki and Crow had followed them. Where were the idiots that he was going to probably punch, though? Who had sent the duel request?

Something small shot into the duel lane. For a moment, Judai was pretty sure he was seeing things, but then—was that…someone on rollerblades? In a _Duel Lane?_

His eyes hadn't deceived him, and the small figure caught up with them much faster than Judai would have thought possible. The boy shot up onto the wall itself, speeding along it to get around Shou. Against the glowing light of the Duel Lane, Judai could see that the boy was barely older than Lua and Luka, his long hair flapping behind him in a braid, metallic accessories glinting along his arm, a strange glowing Duel Disk floating in front of him. As Judai watched, the boy shot up into the air off the side of the wall and twisted. His rollerblades snapped together as he came down, and he landed back onto the lane in front of Shou and Yusei's bikes with a flourish, suddenly on a Duel Board like Lua and Luka's machines.

He spun around to face the other D-Wheelers, teeth flashing in the light. His bright green eyes glittered with a dark sort of excitement.

“Found them!” he said triumphantly, punching the air like a child who had just found the last Easter egg. “Maaannn, but you guys made yourselves tough to find. The only question is which one of you…”

He was looking straight at Luka as he said this, and the girl stared back with horror in her eyes and her mouth hanging open. She wrapped her arms tightly around Lua, who was still nestled with his head on her chest. He was still glowing a deep red, still radiating heat.

The boy's mouth spread into a wide smile.

“Well, that wasn't too hard at all~” he laughed. “Hey, you guys, how about you make this easy? I just need the little dope. Lua, isn't it? I need him.”

Yusei reacted first, ripping his motorcycle in front of Shou and his sidecar. Judai could _feel_ the tremble in Yusei's shoulders, although whether it was fear about how they might be too delayed to help Lua, or anger at the intrusion, he couldn't tell.

“Over my fucking dead body,” he growled.

The boy laughed.

“I was actually kinda hoping one of you dopes would say that! Come on then, fight me, I dare you!”

He laughed as he dropped back so that he was speeding only a few feet ahead of Yusei.

“I'm not as easy as Placido,” he shouted at them over the wind. “But I'm not as stupid, either—my name is Luciano. You deserve to know the name of the person who kicks your ass!”

He laughed, a wild, erratic sound that send shivers down Judai's spine. It was almost the easy carefree sound of a child, but there was yet too much…inhumanness about it. Something about this child was wrong.

“I'll take the first turn!” Luciano said. “I summon Sky Core in attack mode!”

There it was—the Meklord. Judai felt his stomach drop out as he saw the core appear. He didn't want to look at it, didn't want to see what he knew he was going to.

It almost blinded him. The thing shone with the Light of Destruction, so bright that it burned into Judai's eyes and he had to press his head against Yusei's back to make it stop.

“I set two cards face down! Turn end!”

“My turn!” Yusei shouted. “Draw!”

Yusei put his hand on top of his deck, but he didn't draw right away. To distract him from the way the Light of Destruction was making his stomach do flip flops, Judai peeked over Yusei's shoulder to see his hand. It was a good one—he could summon Stardust Dragon this very turn.

“Torrential Tribute,” Yusei muttered. “He'll have Torrential Tribute.”

Judai clenched his jaw.

“You're sure?”

“That's what the twins told me he used last time. When his monster is destroyed by a card effect, it summons all of the Meklord.”

“You need Shooting Star,” Judai said. “And fast.”

Yusei shook his head.

“I can't Synchro. Not like this. Not with—”

And then Judai remembered where he was, and what happened to them when Yusei tried to Synchro around Judai. They couldn't afford to black out now. Judai tightened his grip around Yusei's waist.

“Then—Hourglass. Hourglass Dragon.”

Yusei started softly. Judai could tell he wanted to look back over his shoulder, glance at Judai to confirm, but he didn't.

“I—I don't have Yubel in my deck right now, Judai, I can't…”

“Yes, you do,” Judai said. “Yubel does whatever the fuck she wants—in fact, I think she's already in your deck. Positive, in fact.”

“When did you—”

“I didn't. Yubel does whatever the fuck she wants—didn't I just say that?”

— _It's true—_ Yubel said at the back of Judai's mind, sounding immensely pleased with herself.

Yusei half looked over his shoulder, and Judai could see him smiling weakly.

“Isn't that cheating?”

“Aren't alien robots from outer space that steal Synchro monsters cheating?”

Yusei actually laughed.

“All right—but getting Stardust out isn't going to be easy.”

“Go for it, you can do it. I'm right here.”

Yusei leaned briefly back against Judai.

“I know,” he whispered.

He finally drew his card. He didn't even act surprised to see Yubel there, he only shook his head in near exasperation. He added Yubel to his hand and selected one from his hand.

“I summon Tuningware in attack mode!” he shouted.

“My trap card activates! Torrential Tribute!” Luciano shouted. “All monsters on the field are destroyed!”

 _Here it comes,_ Judai thought.

The water smashed into Yusei's tiny monster and destroyed it, taking out the Sky Core in a rush of sparkles as well. The Light of Destruction, only flashed brighter and Judai felt like something inside him was withering. It was a _virus_ , he almost hissed to himself. It was a plague, it wanted to kill him, and he wanted nothing to do with the blinding, horrible light that was determined to blot out the Gentle Darkness.

In the wake of the tsunami, the core burst open and the metal started to reform. The monster formed itself in the air, glowing against the night sky. Unlike the last Meklord Judai had seen, this one was almost a dragon, with the same glowing core in its chest. Yusei made a soft, irritated sound.

“I hate being right,” he muttered.

“When Sky Core is destroyed, I can summon my Meklord Skiel!” Luciano said, giggling. “Now what, Yusei? Your field is wide open!”

“You need to defend yourself,” Judai said.

“I know, I've got it.”

He grabbed another card and dropped it into the graveyard.

“I can special summon Quickdraw Synchron by discarding one monster from my hand! I special summon it in defense mode and end my turn!”

“How boring!” Luciano said. “My turn!”

He didn't even look at the next card he drew, spinning around to face Yusei head on and thrusting his hand forward.

“Go, Skiel! Destroy his stupid monster!”

The blue dragon mech screeched, and the sound ripped through Judai's head. It was the worst thing he had ever heard, the perfect opposite to the melodic tune of a Synchro summon. He moaned, and he felt Yusei shift in response.

Then the monster attacked, and Judai could hear the shatter of Quickdraw Synchron as it was destroyed.

“My turn!” Yusei shouted.

“It might as well be your last!” Luciano said. “There's nothing you can do against Skiel—and I know all about your precious Shooting Star Dragon!”

“That's why I won't be using it,” Yusei muttered. “Hang on, Judai.”

Judai gripped Yusei tighter as Yusei picked up speed.

“I summon Junk Synchron!” Yusei shouted. “When Junk Synchron is summoned, I can special summon a level two or lower monster from my graveyard—come out, Tuningware!”

The tiny monster hopped back onto the field beside Junk Synchron, and then Yusei was already reaching for his hand.

“When I successfully special summon from the graveyard, I can special summon Doppelwarrior from my hand!”

A small soldier with a permanent afterimage joined the other two mechs on the field, cocking its small rifle.

“And when there's a Tuner monster on the field, I can special summon Quillbolt Hedgehog from the Graveyard!”

The hedgehog leaped free, the little bolts on its back glittering in the starlight. Judai tightened his grip, feeling Yusei hesitate.

“To get to Hourglass, I need Stardust,” he said. “Hang on, for one second, okay, Judai?”

“We can manage,” Judai said. “Just point us straight—flip to autopilot for a second if you have to, we should only go under for a second.”

Yusei nodded, swallowed a lump in his throat. He took in a deep breath.

“I tune the level one Tuningware, the level two Quillbolt Hedgehog, and the level two Doppelwarrior with level three Junk Synchron!”

Junk Synchron flashed and became the signature green gates of a Synchro summon. The song _immediately_ exploded into Judai's head. He gasped—did Yusei hear it too? The boy's voice faltered, so he must have, but he kept on.

“Clustering wishes will become a new shining star! Become the path its light shines upon!”

A chant. A summon chant. There were _words_ to go with the tune. Judai knew it instinctively, now. There were words, a summon chant, _lyrics_ to the melody that played when there was a Synchro summon and he was near Yusei. If he figured out what the words were, would he find a new power? Was the song leading them to a good place, or a bad one?

“Synchro Summon! Take flight, Stardust Dragon!”

For the barest moment, Judai's vision whited out. And in the depths of the white, for a moment, he thought he could taste them—the words that went with the song.

And then he was snapping back, gasping for breath. Stardust Dragon soared overhead. Its wings sparkled in the starlight as it raised his head and let out a low, melodic keen.

Luciano laughed, throwing his head back and letting the sound echo over the Duel Lane.

“Don't you _learn?_ ” he giggled. “Your Synchro monsters are useless!”

Yusei took a breath.

“Since Tuningware was sent to the graveyard for a Synchro summon, I draw one card!”

He slipped the card free of the top of the deck—Speed Fusion. But they didn't have enough speed counters…Judai's eyes flickered to the last card in Yusei's hand and actually smiled. This was going to work.

“I activate the Speed Spell Overboost! I gain four speed counters!”

Their counters shot up to five—enough for Speed Fusion.

Yusei reached for the Speed Fusion card on his card holder. The wind was getting bad; his fingers were trembling. Was he feeling as shaky after that brief blackout as Judai was?

Judai reached his hand around Yusei's waist and grabbed his hand. He held it for just a second, wishing that he could find Yusei's eyes. Then, while Judai steadied Yusei's hand, Yusei managed to curl his fingers around the card.

“I activate the Speed Spell – Speed Fusion!” Yusei shouted.

For a moment, Luciano's mouth dropped open, and then recognition sparked in his eyes and his face seemed to whiten.

“I fuse Stardust Dragon with Yubel in my hand!” Yusei said.

The song pressed against Judai's mind, but it was muffled, far away, as though only half of it was there. And yet, there were still _words_. Not quite the right ones, but…

“Starlight and shadows become one!” Judai found himself saying in unison with Yusei. “The night sky condenses into the shape of time! Rise once more, Hourglass Dragon!”

And then Judai was only half there.

The other half of him was up in the sky with the dragon.

. . .

If Yusei couldn't explain the feeling of Hourglass Dragon before, he certainly couldn't now. It was an experience that had no words. While he knew that he was still on the bike, still speeding along after his opponent, still terrified about Lua and Luka and the feeling of running out of time, the rest of him was looking down over the field.

The him on the bike looked up to the him in the sky, and the him on the bike could see that the dragon was almost invisible. Without the light reflecting on it from below, the dragon might have blended into the sky, as though it were a chunk of the night sky itself. Its wings glittered with diamonds like tiny stars in its velvet black scales. It soared lazily through the sky, wings spread huge and wide.

He was _ancient_ , Yusei felt from within the dragon. He was one of the oldest beings in the universe. It had been so long since he had risen from sleep—and twice in as many weeks, to boot. He turned his dragon eyes lazily down at the world below, soaring without flapping his wings. Ahhh…now there was a sight he hadn't seen in sometime. That light was incredibly bright, shining from inside the mechanical creature. A little too bright, if you asked him. Completely obnoxious.

Yusei felt dizzy. Were these…his thoughts? No, they weren't, but they felt like his. And Judai was there too, he could feel him in there, thinking the same dragon-y thoughts as Yusei, feeling just as rattled by the experience as Yusei did.

Well, if that light was any indication, that would be why he had been woken up again. The Channels hadn't had need of him for so long. It was quite nice to see them again, he thought. It got so lonely with only one set of thoughts in his head. Sharing space with the Channels had always been a pleasure—even if the Channels generally got a little mixed up. Well, they were young, they could learn.

Yusei almost felt like throwing up; he couldn't distinguish himself from the dragon or Judai at all. The battle, he had to think about the battle…

Ahhh yes, the creature of Imbalanced Light, right, that would have to be dealt with first. He yawned, making sure the creature could see every single one of his large, sharpened teeth. It probably did not remember the time that he had been around. If it did, it would be cowering right now. But as it was, this appeared to be a rather young Skiel, and it only hissed back at him, spitting out sparks of Light. Well. He'd scare a bit of sense into that creature right quick.

There was a sudden howl, like a cry of complete and utter rage. Yusei snapped fully back to himself, feeling his connection to the dragon pull almost to breaking. That sound was—

“YUSEI!” Judai screamed behind him, and then Judai was suddenly leaping off of the bike, kicking it with inhuman force as he did so, and Yusei's bike swerved just before the darkness struck the ground and exploded.

Yusei's D-Wheel spun out and all he could do was tuck his head in and hang on for dear life. He crashed hard against the side of the Duel Lane and his grip slipped. With a cry, he hit the ground and rolled. His head struck the ground more than once and even with the helmet he knew he was going to have to check for a concussion.

Judai! Where had Judai—

His head spun and rattled as he immediately tried to push himself to his feet, getting to his hands and knees. Aki skidded to a stop just beside him, throwing her helmet off as she leaped to the ground and ran to him.

“Yusei, oh god, what—”

Her hands gripped his shoulders, trying to steady him, but everything was spinning and he felt like he was going to throw up. He could feel Hourglass Dragon twisting overhead, suddenly snapping with irritation and distress. The dragon was upset, but it couldn't do anything for some reason, and—how was it still here without Yusei's D-Wheel still moving?

Yusei gripped at Aki's hands, trying to steady himself.

“J-Judai,” he said. “Where is Judai?”

“He's over there, he's—oh god, he's fighting Fujiwara.”

Yusei's head snapped up and his vision cleared all at once.

Fire bloomed over the Duel Lane—something had crashed and crashed badly, or some kind of magical blast had hit something. Half of the Duel Lane had been blown off just twenty feet away from Yusei and it was on fire, sending a thick column of rippling smoke into the air. In the silhouette of the fire, Yusei could see Judai—Judai with his wings out, with his fangs long and his back arched and feral as he hissed, eyes flashing orange and green in the firelight as he jerked back from a swipe of darkness shot from the palm of Fujiwara. Fujiwara could barely be seen; his silhouette was draped with heavy clouds of shadow that snaked and smoked over his shoulders and down to his feet like oily mist. Even from here, Yusei could see his full black eyes glittering with firelight like it was full of embers, his face contorted with rage and hate.

“I will not let you remove that seal!” Fujiwara shouted.

“He'll fucking die!” Judai screamed back. “Is that what you want? You want your son to _die?_ ”

“None of this would have happened if you hadn't tried to fucking fix everything, Yuki Judai!”

Judai responded by swiping at Fujiwara's face with suddenly elongated claws. Fujiwara jolted back and then sent up a wave of shadows, which Judai countered with a wave of his own.

But what about Luciano? Where had he gone? He was nowhere in—

No, there he was—the boy was tangled up in knots of shadow, his eyes wide with almost childlike horror as he attempted to cut himself free. His Meklord had vanished, and his Duel Disk deactivated. He let out a frustrated cry as he threw himself against the shadows to no affect. Was it Fujiwara or Judai that was holding him there? Yusei didn't think Judai gave a shit so it must be Fujiwara, but why?

Why was Fujiwara attacking? Somewhere in the back of Yusei's rattled mind he could hear the others on the headset, hear Shou shouting at Luka to stay put and Luka crying and screaming into her headset for her father to hear her, to please stop fighting Judai, please, dad, please, oh god, please—

Judai was fighting. Judai was fighting _alone_.

Yusei felt so unstable. All of a sudden, everything was falling apart. Without Judai's tight grip around his waist he felt like he was going to fall over. He had told Judai that he wasn't letting him take his own motorcycle because he wasn't sure how recovered he was yet—that had been only half true. He had—he had just wanted to feel Judai there. He had needed him. Needed to feel that he was right there beside him while he dove into the unknown. And now, everything was falling to pieces and there was nothing Yusei could do.

Judai snarled as he fell back to another wave of Fujiwara's shadows. He crossed his arms in front of himself—there was something guarded, held back in his fighting, Yusei realized. Was he—he wasn't still shaken from the Synchro, was he? Something was wrong, Judai needed someone to help him—

“Yusei! Yusei!”

Aki shook his shoulder, and then in a fit of exasperation she gripped his helmet and ripped it off his head so that she could shout into his ear, and Yusei realized that she must have been shouting at him for a few seconds now. He suddenly noticed that there were tears rolling down his cheeks, and he couldn't get them to stop.

Aki ripped Yusei to face her, and her hot, fiery eyes crackled with even more heat than the fire.

“What are you doing?? Judai needs you!”

Yusei felt his voice choking up in his throat.

“I—what can I _do_ ,” he whispered, voice cracking. “I—I don't have powers like him, like you, I can only—all I can do is fucking play card games, Aki, there's nothing I can do—”

She grabbed him by the collar and yanked him up. He startled as he realized that she was kissing his cheek. Hard and firm, her tears suddenly splashing against his cheek. Then she released him, and stared at him with tears bubbling in her eyes.

“Shut the fuck up,” she whispered. “You have more power than all of us—you're the lead Signer for a _reason_ , Yusei, so start acting like it.”

She lifted him up to his feet by his collar and shoved him forward.

“Go,” she whispered. “Go! Go, goddammit, go! I'll protect the twins and Shou and Crow and whatever just _go get your goddamn boyfriend before he gets himself killed!”_

Yusei felt something catch in his chest. He spared one more look at Aki. He hoped that that look held everything that he wanted to tell her. _Thank you. You're so much stronger than before—you've grown so much—I'm so proud of you, so glad to know you, so glad that you came into my life and became my friend. I—thank you. For everything._

And then he knew that she was right.

He turned himself towards Judai and bolted across the road.

He had to get to Judai.

Even if he couldn't do anything…

He had to get to Judai. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AYYYYEEEE NEW CHAPTER! Wasn't too long between updates, was it? I don't remember anymore. I'm exhausted. I've been writing all day and my fingers are going to flip out. Anyway! Hope this was a satisfactory chapter, lots of shit happening, but also hopefully more than enough shippy things! Might get even get a little shipper next chapter ;) (read: it will definitely get A LOT shippier next chapter). Thank you for reading, and I hope you enjoyed! See you next Saturday!


	20. Auriga

Jack dove behind a crumbling wall—his shoulder struck the edge and his entire body rattled, leaving him breathlessly sprawled across the ground for a moment. Overhead, black light roared through the wall and sent a spray of concrete over him. He coughed through the dust and shoved himself back up by the palms of his hands, staggering back against the wall to brace himself.

“What's wrong, Jack? You don't want to play this game?”

His heart screamed against the base of his throat and he couldn't breathe past it. His vision was blurring to a tunnel along the edges. Was he going to black out? No, no, no, he couldn't, not now, he had to…

He had to what?

On the other side of this wall, Carly stood atop a crumbling building. He could see her in the back of his mind, the black cloak rippling like a stain of watery oil around her, the edges gleaming with a venomous orange. He could see her eyes…the glowing blue in a pool of black. Alien, ancient, _cruel_ and cold—not his Carly. Not the same…Carly.

He coughed through the dust coating his throat before he chanced a peek around the wall.

There she was, just as he had imagined it, standing tall in her knee high boots and rippling cloak, the hood pushed back from her face so that her hair could trickle over her shoulders and lift slight around her in a cloud of static strands, as though a storm were on the rise.

Jack swallowed—his voice. He needed his voice.

“Carly…”

It only came out as a whisper, he couldn't make it much more. But the sound echoed anyway in this place between thought and dream, echoed and spun around him as though he had shouted it.

Carly's face curled, her brow furrowing as though she were some feral animal.

“What?” she hissed between her teeth. “You want to say my name _now_? After all the time that you've ignored me? Stayed away? Made me think that I wasn't _GOOD ENOUGH?_ ”

She snapped her fingers above her head and Fortune Lady Dark rose up behind her. Staff raised and crackled with black lightning. Jack flung himself out from behind the wall just before the blast hit in an explosion of dust and concrete slabs. Debris rained over him and he flung his hands over him before it could strike the back of his head, pieces striking off his back and leaving bruises behind.

“You've chased me away for months— _months!_ ”

Jack barely had time to roll before Fortune Lady Earth shot for him. Her staff stabbed into the ground where Jack had been mere seconds before. Acting more on adrenaline than anything else, he swept his leg towards hers and the Fortune Lady jumped back into the air, retreating. It was enough time for him to shove his legs underneath him and get the ground beneath his feet again, his whole body swaying as though his spine were about to snap. He felt a pit growing in his stomach, an emptiness eating away at him from the base of his torso and up through his throat, stealing his words away.

He could see her at the back of his mind again—not the woman in black robes before him, but the woman sitting across the table from him in the cafe, a cheap coffee in front of her, flapping her hands as she explained her latest article. He saw himself, saying nothing, drowning his words in another long sip of coffee to excuse why he wasn't contributing to the conversation.

“Carly,” he managed to say again, the name rolling off his tongue like molasses, thick and hard to get out. “Carly… _please…_ ”

The rage in her eyes felt like a hand squeezing around his throat.

“Please? _Please_? Please _what?_ After all this time, you want me to listen, is that it? After not listening—after not _caring_?”

She thrust her palm in front of her, and Water and Wind appeared with their staffs crossed. A swear echoed across Jack's mind. He ducked his head and barreled forward, ducking underneath the typhoon and ducking into another ruined building for cover. He couldn't _breathe_ , he was going to _choke—_

“Do you know what I've been thinking this whole time? Do you _realize_ how I've felt? Weeks, missing from my memory, and no one will tell me _why!_ Everyone avoids the fucking question! Even you—especially you, the one that should _know_ , the one that should have _told me_ what happened! DO you know—how— _lost_ I've felt…”

Her words choked in between sentences. Jack's heart seized up—was she…crying?

He chanced a peek through a broken window.

She still stood, as tall and proud as before on top of the building. But…no, wait…

Her hands curled into fists at her sides, shaking even as she tried to press them into her legs to make them stop. Her shoulders, drawn up against her ears as her head ducked half down, trembled as though she were a blade of grass in the wind. The tilt of her bangs over her face could not hide the silver trails of tears that smeared her face, turned dusty concrete from the explosions into black lines that ran down her cheeks.

He felt his throat close up. His words dried away, fingers curled into the dust. Crying. She was crying—she was doing…doing the one thing that he had hoped he would never have to see. Crying because she remembered, remembered what had happened, and it hurt her, it hurt her as much as he had thought it would. This—this was _why_ he had stayed away, so that she wouldn't do this, god, what else should he have done, how could he have…how could he have stopped her from remembering this—

“Why didn't you tell me?” Carly said again, her throat burbling with tears. “Goddammit Jack…why didn't you…tell me…what happened…did you—did you not want—to remember what I—said to you?”

It was like someone had just taken a pickax to the rock wall in his brain. His thoughts crumbled, his breath caught, his eyes widened, a ray of light seemed to pierce through into his brain.

… _oh_.

For a moment, the world around him seemed to warp—for a moment, he was not hiding in the broken down building of the mindscape. For a moment, he instead knelt on the ground, the weight of her body in his arms as his knees dug into sharp rock. Her voice was a whisper—only a memory, a thread of a breath. _I love you, Jack._

“Did you not—want to remember—that…?”

Her choking voice snapped the world back to its current reality. Jack blinked once and found that there were tears blurring his vision.

_I've been so fucking stupid._

And then,

_Fucking hell, Crow was right—I'm never going to hear the end of this._

He pushed himself up against the back of the wall, pressing himself into it for support. He knew what he had to do now. It was the only option—the only option there had ever been, if he hadn't been too stupid to realize it.

“ _You should be able to summon your ka monster when you’re inside,”_ Johan had told him. Jack didn’t know what the fuck a ka monster was, but if Carly was summoning Fortune Ladies, he had an idea of what he could do.

Water punched a hole in the wall beside Jack's head. That was his cue to move. He shot out through the other door, hit the ground with a roll, and came up on his feet.

His arm burned with red light against the cold scenery, a heat that pulsed over his body. He didn’t even have to call its name or speak the summon chant that he was so accustomed to—his dragon appeared in a spray of red sparks and a roar.

Red Archfiend’s wings unfurled over him, a crackling heat sparking from its scales and scattering embers across the cold stone ground.

“Oh, so now you want to fight!” Carly shouted. “Now you’ll fight back!”

Jack could feel Archfiend’s heart pulsing as though it was his own. He had felt it like this the first time he had summoned the card—the first time he had finally gotten the courage to summon the mystical beast that he had stumbled across almost by accident in Satellite’s garbage. At that moment, he had known that it wasn’t an accident. This dragon was his very soul. And it was now that he knew that was completely true.

But for the first time, he and Archfiend weren’t synching hearts to crush their enemies. Red Archfiend rose its head up to the sky, towards the hovering Fortune Ladies, but it didn’t open its maw, didn’t release the fire inside it.

It only let out a low, keening hum. It was a sound that Jack could only describe as the sound of his own heart in that moment.

Jack ducked down and charged towards Carly’s building. Her eyes flashed and drew up to her full height. Gloved hands pushed in front of her and three Fortune Ladies all rose up at once. Jack ducked his head and didn't hesitate. He surged forward. Overhead, Archfiend lowered its head and soared tightly to the ground, wings shielding Jack mostly from harm as the Fortune Ladies descended.

One or two managed to swoop under Archfiend’s protective wings and attack. Jack dove out of the way of each strike—explosions rang out on all sides of him. At least twice a blast came centimeters from his face, slicing small cuts into his cheeks.

 _She's not trying to hit me,_ he realized with a start. _She keeps missing—on purpose, or does she realize she's doing it?_

“Fight back!” she screamed at him. “Dammit, Jack, _fight back,_ why won't you fight back?”

Carly was still there. _His_ Carly, the smiling, happy Carly that could never hurt anyone, was still here. He could still reach her.

He made it to the base of the half building and punched through the door with one shoulder, Archfiend landing heavily and stretching over the building to prevent the Fortune Ladies from following. He didn't stop to look. Stairs—right ahead. His heel caught on the edge of one step and he slipped backward. With a mighty effort, he lunged himself forward and wrapped his hand around the last remaining part of the railing to heave himself up. His momentum regained, he twisted up and around the stairs. The whole building shook with more explosions—he wasn't sure what she was attacking, but he kept almost losing his footing with each shake.

A cracked door loomed at the top of the steps, light slicing through the crack. With a strangled grunt, he set his shoulder and crashed through it.

Light poured over him as he stumbled back outside.

She stood at the edge, a black silhouette against a gray sky—at the sound of the door slamming open, she whirled around in a swirl of black silk, eyes wide and flinging silver tears from their edges.

Her foot caught on the edge. Her eyes bulged, arms flung out, cloak fluttered as her body slowly tilted towards the open air. For a moment, the whole world stood still as his heart dropped down into his stomach and he realized that _she was going to fall._

He lunged forward. In slow motion, his hand wrapped around her flailing wrist. Red Archfiend’s head snaked upwards as it clung to the side of the building, its nose pressing up against Carly’s back and nudging her forward. And then the world snapped back to regular speed as he yanked, dragging her away from the edge. She tumbled into his arms, her head falling against his shoulder, body crumpling against him as though all of the tension had suddenly rushed out of it. His arms tightened around her almost automatically, face pressing against the top of her head and imprinting the scent of her hair into the back of his mind.

Neither of them moved for a moment. Nothing made a sound, except for their breathing.

“I'm sorry.”

His voice cracked, and this time, the whisper did not echo across the landscape. It remained only a whisper. He felt her shudder, and tightened his grip, as though she might disappear. Might turn to dust in his arms again.

“I'm so…so sorry,” he said again. “I left you.”

“Stop,” Carly whispered, her voice cracking.

“I heard from Judai—you saved my life that night, when the shadows got me. Again. You've saved me more times than I can count anymore.”

“Jack…” her voice cracked.

“I thought I didn't tell you about what happened because I was afraid,” he said, because he couldn't stop anymore, he had to talk, he had to keep talking until it was all out. “And I was—but not—not for the reason I thought. I thought I was afraid of you remembering, of it hurting you.”

“Jack, please, don't,” she cried, but she pushed her face into his chest and curled up tighter against him.

“But I wasn't—afraid of that. I was afraid…afraid of my—of my feelings, and I didn't know…what I would do…when you didn't remember what happened, I was afraid, too afraid to tell you. Without those memories, would you…feel the same way…anymore…?”

Her tears stained against his shirt.

“You keep saving me, Carly,” he whispered, dragging his fingers through her hair. “Let me save you this time. If—if it takes killing me, then do it. Please, Carly. Please.”

He could feel her hands, warm through his jacket, pressed against his chest. Her tears, cold on his shoulders even through the fabric as though all sensations were heightened in this strange place between dream and reality.

“I—I’m scared,” Carly said.

“I know.”

“I saw something, Jack. Before I went under. I saw something and it scared me. I’m too scared to wake up.”

He increased his grip on her, trying to imprint her warmth against his arms, the feeling of his embrace molded around her frame.

“I’ve been so scared,” she mumbled. “I wake up—no memories, no nothing—and suddenly I’m seeing things, things that I shouldn’t, things that I understand when I shouldn’t, but there’s—no one—to tell—”

“You can tell me,” Jack said. “I’ll listen this time—I promise. I’ll listen forever. I won’t…I won’t stop listening ever again.”

He felt his own voice crack, felt his throat close up halfway through his words, but he forced them out anyway. Words he should have said a million years ago.

Carly swallowed as she pressed her face against his neck.

“I…I just want to listen to you first,” she mumbled. “Can you…Jack…can you please…wake me up…

He knew what she wanted him to say. He knew what he was supposed to say—what he wanted to say. And all of a sudden, the _need_ , the _desire_ to say it out loud felt like a roiling heat at the base of his stomach, a fire that flared through him with so much passion that he couldn’t remember feeling so on fire before. He could feel Archfiend’s heart pick up, feel the hot breath from its nose rush over the pair of them as it looked at them over the side of the building. His soul felt like it was burning, and it felt like—like something was falling into place, something that he should have had a long time ago was filling in a hole that he hadn’t realized was there. Like he was waking up.

This world was a prison that Carly had created for herself, a hiding place made of cold and ice and chill.

He needed to burn it away.

“Carly,” he said. “I love you.”

The tiny sound of her breath unfurling was perhaps the most beautiful sound in the world.

And then the world turned red and warm all at once like a fire eating away at reality, and everything, everything except for the feeling of her in his arms, disappeared.

The last thing he heard was the sound of Red Archfiend, letting out one last, distant hum.

_The beginnings of a completed song…_

. . .

The fire crackled and snapped over Judai’s head. Already his scales had spread down his arms, insulating him against the heat, so he barely even noticed the roaring blaze from Fujiwara’s wild attack.

 _He’s more unstable than last time_ , he thought, ducking under a swipe of clawed shadows. _It’s like he’s actually coming apart._

Every so often as they traded blows, Fujiwara’s face seemed to fuzz out of focus. The shadows were leaking out of his skin as though he were a balloon losing air. He wasn’t meant to be a vessel for whatever he was holding, and it was starting to break him into pieces.

But Fujiwara’s personal safety wasn’t exactly Judai’s first priority. He hit the ground and rolled under another wave of shadows, streaking to his feet and trying to come up with a deadly slash of his claws. Fujiwara hollowed out his stomach just in time, pulling back from the strike. Judai tried to fling himself forward again—no, wait, where was Fujiwara, what had happened to his vision, why was he looking at everything from above—

Judai snapped back to himself and only barely ripped his head out of the way of Fujiwara’s shadow lance, the tip slashing past his cheek and leaving a thin line of blood behind. He stumbled forward. Fujiwara moved to strike and Judai simply shoved his weight forward the last few steps, letting his body hit the ground and rolling to the side to get distance again.

As he rose to his feet, he felt his vision flicker again, change to a different view, as though he were switching the camera settings on a video game. What was—

He sucked in a breath as his chest lurched, and he remembered.

_Hourglass Dragon. It’s still here. Part of my consciousness is still up with it._

How was that possible? Yusei’s D-Wheel had crashed; the Solid Vision hologram shouldn’t be able to stay solid without the Momentum running! Judai staggered to a straightened position, rubbing his mouth with the back of his hand to clean the blood from his split lip.

Fujiwara’s shoulders arched like some feral animal. He actually hissed at Judai, his full black eyes glittering with the embers from the fire at his side.

It was at that moment that Judai’s blood ran cold and he realized something very, very wrong.

He was on the wrong side of Fujiwara now.

He could see Lua and Luka over Fujiwara’s shoulder. Lua was still unconscious, cradled against Luka’s chest while Shou leaned down to check his temperature, hand pressed to his forehead. Aki stood beside them with her duel disk out, eyes reflected the flames and hair fluttered from the fiery wind.

Fujiwara seemed to realize that as well, his eyes flicking over his shoulder. Judai saw his weight shift, as though he were about to lunge backwards towards his children.

“Fujiwara, stop!” Judai said. “You put a seal back on his powers, and he’ll implode! You have to let me remove it!”

“If it’s removed, he’s in more danger,” Fujiwara hissed. “Don’t act like you know what’s best for my children, Judai!”

Rage ballooned in Judai’s chest, heating up his cheeks even against the heat from the flames.

“Don’t act like being a parent means you know everything!” he snarled. “Dammit, sit down and listen to yourself for two minutes!”

Fujiwara, apparently, had no plans of doing anything of the sort. In a rush of shadows, he flipped around and bolted towards Lua and Luka. Aki’s eyes flashed and she raised her Duel Disk in preparation for his attack, Judai lunged forward, his wings pushing him out—

A different shadow barreled into Fujiwara, knocking him off course. Judai felt his heart jump into his throat as both figures rolled across the ground, dangerously close to the flaming edge of the Duel Lane. Fujiwara shrieked with rage, his hands clawing for whatever had struck him—Judai already knew who it was and his heart might just stop—

Fujiwara slammed Yusei down into the ground, his back almost right in the flames. Yusei’s eyes bulged but not a sound escaped him. He kicked out sharply with one leg to get Fujiwara to release him, and then snapped up to his feet and out of the flames. It was enough for Judai to get himself across the space, slashing for Fujiwara while he was still down. Fujiwara was faster, though, rolling himself into the flames and away from Judai’s attack. The fire seemed to have no effect on him—the shadows were like a cloak, pulling the fire away from Fujiwara’s skin and leaving him completely untouched. He hissed as he backed away into the flames, using them as a shield to prevent Judai and Yusei from coming too close to him.

Judai took the brief moment of reprieve to bolt for Yusei and grab him under the elbow, lifting him to his feet. The entire back of his jacket was scorched but the tough material of the riding jacket had held firm—his skin was probably just a little red underneath. Yusei coughed into his hand, and Judai’s brain immediately went into a blur of panic, imagining damage from fire or smoke inhalation or something else making Yusei suddenly stagger and fall.

“I’m fine, I’m fine,” Yusei said, coughing again into the back of his glove.

“You could have gotten yourself killed,” Judai said, his panic becoming a snap in his voice. “What are you doing??”

“Helping you,” Yusei said.

Judai opened his mouth to argue—Yusei wasn’t magically enhanced the way Judai was, he had the Crimson Dragon but he was basically human, he wasn’t made for a fight like this—

Yusei’s eyes, however, found and held his. They were like pools of still water, boring into Judai’s and stopping his protests in his throat. Yusei gripped Judai under the arm briefly.

“I’m not leaving you,” he said.

Judai swallowed thickly, his throat suddenly dry. He couldn’t get his heart to slow down and he didn’t know why. He shook his head, a sigh escaping him in spite of himself.

“I can’t stop you, can I?” he said.

Yusei actually smirked a little at him. Judai found a smile fluttering to his own lips as well. In spite of everything—Yusei was here. He was right here, right beside him. For a moment, Judai felt his mind go quiet—for a moment he thought _everything is going to be okay._

And then suddenly, Yusei’s eyes bulged. His grip released abruptly from Judai’s arm and both hands jumped to his throat. Judai felt his heart stop for a moment.

The shadows—they were curled around Yusei’s throat. Yusei gasped for air, his legs kicking out slightly as he was lifted inches into the air. Judai grabbed for his arms, tried to pull him back down wildly for a moment—he stopped when Yusei cried out and realized he was only making it worse. He whipped around—Fujiwara still stood in the flames, hands outstretched and shadows dripping from his fingers, spreading out like living oil to ensnare Yusei.

“Let him go, Fujiwara!” Judai screamed. “ _Let him go!_ ”

Fujiwara actually bared his teeth at Judai in a snarl.

“This can all end _right_ _here,_ ” he said. “If he dies, this all ends, Judai—we can make this loop _end_.”

Judai’s own shadows roiled up from the base of his feet and flared into the flames. They became lances, punching through Fujiwara. His face whitened, he gasped with each wild stab, but even as Judai stabbed him with the shadows over and over again, his heart growing wild and a scream curling in his throat, Fujiwara didn’t move, barely flinched, didn’t even _bleed_ , as though Judai were stabbing a man made out of straw rather than one of flesh and blood.

Judai could hear Yusei’s choking breaths at his side, but he couldn’t loosen the grip of Fujiwara’s shadows—he couldn’t get his shadows to overpower Fujiwara’s, he couldn’t release Yusei. Panic froze all of Judai’s limbs as he whipped around to Yusei, trying to grab at the shadows around his neck as though he could bodily pull them off. Yusei’s face was already white, his struggles slowing. Judai gripped his face, tried to get him to look at him.

“Yusei! Yusei, no, stay with me, stay with me!”

Yusei gripped Judai’s hands against his face—his mouth was moving, but in Judai’s panic he couldn’t read his lips, and no sound was coming out of his throat.

A shadow curled off of Yusei’s neck and into the air, silhouetting against the flames as it became a point aimed directly for the side of Yusei’s head. A tangled scream forced out of Judai’s throat—no, no, Yusei couldn’t—not in front of him—

Yusei’s eyes squeezed shut, his grip tightened on Judai’s hands. The spiked tentacle of shadow shot for his head, ready to pierce through—

And then overhead, Judai heard Hourglass Dragon. Felt it thrumming in his chest, felt the part of him that was the dragon humming. It vibrated, filled the space, whited out Judai’s vision. He felt Yusei suddenly grow cool under his hands, something like a breath of fresh air tickling his face and blowing away the choking heat of the flames.

Something clicked.

He was in the dragon for a moment again, feeling his wings beat with ferocity, wind blowing back the creeping flames.

The Dragon’s thoughts overlaid his, mixing him up—were these the Dragon’s thoughts or his? This was a preposterous situation, really. A mess like this must mean the Origins were getting desperate, as usual. Honestly. They didn’t know the first thing about humans. These little dragonets were far too young for this sort of exertion. It was no good to force things like this. Well, it wouldn’t be the first time he had to clean up their messes. The Shadow Channel seemed competent enough for his age—the Light Channel, though, was having a spot of trouble. Well. Perhaps he could give him a little nudge.

Judai, wasn’t it? That was the name of the one sharing his thoughts right now. Well, if Judai was listening, perhaps he should know a few things—he, the dragon, that is, was the First and Final Herald. And he was going to need both of them very much alive and well if anything was going to work this time, so he rather hoped that Judai and Yusei would take care of each other. That should be all. Good luck.

And then Judai’s eyes flew open again, his throat choking as he gasped for breath.

Yusei was holding him, his arms around Judai’s shoulders—when had Judai collapsed? When had he fallen to the ground—Yusei. Was Yusei okay?

He pawed blindly up for Yusei’s face—the blinding light of the flames was too much—

Or was that…

No, that wasn’t the flames…the orange glow was softer, somehow. Instead, it was a white glow that was catching his attention. Soft, gentle, cool, like the briskness of an early winter breeze. Yusei’s hand pressed to his face, was Yusei talking to him? Was he shouting? Why couldn’t Judai hear him?

He blinked the blur out of his eyes—Yusei cradled him, his lips moving, eyes wide with fright.

 _I’m the one that should be worried about you_ , Judai wanted to say. _But thank god you’re…all right._

Judai’s ears popped and the sound all rushed back to him.

“Judai! Judai!” Yusei was saying, over and over. “Judai, please!”

Judai coughed once.

“What—happened?” he finally managed. “You—are you all right?”

“I’m fine, but you passed out after we connected to Hourglass and—”

Judai squinted—was he…imagining things?

“Yusei…you’re glowing,” he said.

Yusei paused, his eyes flickering down to his own hands. Could he not see it? There was a strange, pearly white glow that clung to Yusei’s frame, like an aura, or a haze. He looked almost…angelic. A coolness radiated off of him as though he were the incarnation of a cool breeze. Judai couldn’t even feel the oppressive heat of the fire anymore.

“Yeah, that’s—new,” Yusei said. “But Judai, I need you to try to get up, I don’t know how long I can hold this—”

Judai blinked the last of his confusion out of his head, and tried to sit up.

Shadows swirled around them, dangerous and slinking. Every few seconds one would rise up like a snake and lunge at them—but it would strike against nothing, sending a white ripple across some kind of invisible dome.

“The shadows can’t get close to you,” Judai said, eyes widening. “Whatever that aura of yours is, it’s—amazing.”

“It’s definitely pretty cool, but I don’t think I can produce it for much longer,” Yusei said, his teeth grit. “And Hourglass is gone.”

Judai had somehow already known that, an aching hole in his mind where the Dragon’s thoughts should be but weren’t. His mind burst with more questions than he felt he had started with. Channels? The First and Final Herald? And Yusei’s new power, which felt an awful like—like something in between the Gentle Darkness and the Light of Destruction? But the light was…the light _was_ destruction. That was the one thing Judai had thought he had known for sure. But Yusei’s light—the light that was swirling around him even now—it was like Judai’s shadows, gentle, calm, reassuring, without the hate and blinding rage of the Light of Destruction.

But wait, no, Yusei was right, that aura of his was starting to fade and it wouldn’t be long before Fujiwara’s shadows came for them. Judai gripped Yusei’s shoulders and let Yusei help him up.

“What now?” Yusei called over the crackle of flames.

“While we have this cover, we fall back to the others,” Judai said. “I can see what I can do for Lua while we have a breather, and then we can try to get the hell out of here!”

Yusei nodded. He tried to support Judai, but he was already bouncing back. The pair of them bolted across the Duel Lane to where Shou and Aki crouched around the twins. Shou looked up at their approach, his white face outlined in the orange of the fire.

“Where’s Crow?” Yusei said.

“He went to get your D-Wheel where it crashed,” Aki called back.

Judai skidded down beside Lua—the boy was glowing so brightly that it was hard to see his features anymore, he looked like a red silhouette rather than a person. Judai could feel the waves of heat rolling off of his body—he was shocked that Luka was able to still be holding him, but the faint shimmer of whatever magical membrane surrounding her seemed to be insulating her from the heat.

“This is bad,” Judai said. “The seal on his powers is frayed and it’s bleeding into his soul.”

“I don’t understand that but it sounds bad,” Shou said.

“Imagine someone getting shot through a bulletproof vest and some of that Kevlar getting melted into your skin because of it, only with more potential for spontaneous human combustion afterward,” Judai said. “So yeah—bad.”

He pressed his hand to Lua’s forehead and immediately flinched back, swearing. His palm looked back up at him, red, almost scorched as though he had just put his palm onto a hot stove top. The burn began to fade immediately due to Yubel’s influence, and Judai returned his gaze to Lua.

“Okay, okay, I’m gonna have to remove the seal completely,” Judai said. “It’ll be like opening a floodgate so his power is going to spike for a moment afterward—and I’m gonna need time to ease the frayed bits out of him.”

“What do you need from us?” Yusei said.

“Time,” Judai said, spreading his hands out over Lua to try and find the edges of the seal in his soul. “I hate to ask this of you guys, but I need _time_. I need you to distract Fujiwara—and Yusei, if you could learn to make that white light thing last a little longer, that would be great.”

“I’ll do my best,” Yusei said.

“Leave it to us,” Aki said, her eyes narrowing as she rose, stance tightening.

Yusei lingered by Judai for just a second longer. His hand gripped Judai’s shoulder for a second—the pressure of his hand felt nice, and Judai wished that he would stay right there. Then his hand was gone and he could hear the other three’s boots on the ground as they moved to intercept Fujiwara.

Judai swallowed, turning his attention to Lua. Luka looked up at him with sunken eyes, her expression almost dead.

“He’s going to be okay, right?” she mumbled.

 _I have no idea_ , Judai thought.

“Yes,” is what he said out loud. “Help me hold him steady, okay? I can’t touch him as easily as you can.”

Luka only nodded, and looked back down at Lua’s sweating face, his heaving chest.

There was the seal. Okay, now it was just a matter of easing it free, like untangling threads out of a woven cloth. Carefully…carefully…

“When I get this out of him, his powers are going to spike like crazy,” Judai warned Luka, without looking up. “They’ll stabilize after that, but the first wave might actually hurt you—I don’t know if that veil of yours will even hold.”

“It’s fine,” Luka said, tightening her grip on Lua as though he were going to ask her to leave. “I can handle it. Just—save him. Please.”

Judai nodded, and returned his full attention to the work of pulling out the seal. It was ridiculously complex—Judai had never seen such attention to detail. Where had Fujiwara learned to do this? The same questions nagged at him. Why seal Lua’s powers at all, and leave Luka alone? What was the difference between the two of them?

Lua’s eyes suddenly flared open—bright red and sightless, glowing orbs that shone out into the dark like fire. His back arched, his hands curling into the ground with his mouth open in a silent scream.

“What’s happening? What’s going on?” Luka cried out, trying to hold onto her brother’s shoulders.

“I don’t know, I don’t know!”

Judai felt his panic cresting in his chest. He didn’t think he had done anything—had he messed up pulling the seal out? Gods, gods, gods, Lua please—

Behind him, he heard Fujiwara shrieking. He wanted to turn around, wanted to make sure that everyone was okay, but he couldn’t take his eyes off of his work or Lua could die.

“Not enough,” Lua mumbled. “Not enough—need—everyone—it’s not—Judai, it’s not—balanced—”

Cold clutched at Judai’s chest. Balanced? Was Lua talking about—

The Rebalancing? That thing that Yliaster was trying to do? What needed to be balanced?

“L-Lua listen, you need to relax, you need to let me help you, and then you can tell me what’s going on,” Judai said. “You need to relax, please don’t try to talk.”

Lua shook his head wildly, so wildly that he almost fell out of Luka’s faltering grip.

“We need everyone,” he insisted again. “Six plus one—it’s the only way—”

Six—six what? Lua seemed to know something, something Judai desperately wanted to know himself, but now wasn’t the time to press him!

“Lua, I just need you to—”

He pulled another few strings of the seal loose, almost done and—

The seal shattered.

Judai almost screamed, throwing his hands in front of his face as a rush of heat and blinding red washed over him. He heard Luka scream, tried to reach blindly for her against the rush, but he couldn’t push past its force. This was Lua’s power?? Judai didn’t know if he could contain it—Lua might die at this rate! Was this why Fujiwara had sealed him??

The fiery rage drew back, condensed into a pillar that swirled around Lua and up into the sky.

Even in the midst of the roar of power, Judai could hear Lua whisper one tiny sentence.

“ _I need to wake up.”_

. . .

Johan jolted awake, blinking rapidly—when had he fallen asleep? How long had Jack been under? He glanced over the pair of them, a strange sense of uneasiness lingering over his mind. It had been a _long_ time that Jack had been lying there, his body slumped over the side of Carly’s bed. How long did it take for him to find someone he loved in the mindscape? Unless she hadn’t wanted to be found…

Heat suddenly burst over Johan’s face, and he swore, blinking to prevent his eyes from drying out. What was happening to Jack? He was—glowing. A red aura was rippling over his body as though he were under red water. His arm was the brightest light, and something was—something was appearing in his hand?

Carly’s heart rate monitor suddenly flared with activity. Johan leapt to his feet—what was wrong—what was going on in there??

And then both of their eyes flew open. Carly gasped for breath, her hands fluttering at her sides, still too weak to completely lift from the bed. Jack sat bolt upright, his eyes wide and face flushed. For a moment, both of their heads kind of flopped to look at each other.

Then Jack’s eyes flashed down to the thing that had appeared in his hand—a card? Jack jumped out of his seat, leaned over, and kissed Carly hard on the lips. She managed to lift her hands enough to press them against his chest for a moment, and then he was breaking away.

“I’m sorry, I shouldn’t go right now but I—Lua needs me,” he said.

Carly just smiled at him.

“I know,” she said hoarsely. “Go, please—I’ll wait.”

Jack leaned down and kissed her again, shorter this time. Then he lurched back from the bed, almost tripping over his chair and knocking into the floor. Johan could hear footsteps in the hall outside and assumed it was probably a nurse coming to tell them that they needed to keep it down.

“I promise I’ll be back,” Jack said, his eyes wide and expression wild.

Johan’s mouth opened—what on earth had _happened_ in there? The door opened and a nurse started to peer in.

And then a brief rush of red fire enclosed Jack’s frame, and blipped out.

By the time Johan's eyes had cleared from the scar of light against his eyes, Jack had completely vanished.

. . .

Judai couldn't hold it—he couldn't hold Lua's power back anymore.

It was like lava, bubbling up under his fingers as he tried to hold it back from ripping through the entire Duel Lane. Gods, how much power did he have trapped inside his tiny body?? Would it have been this bad if he hadn't had the seal to cause it all to build up?

Luka was shouting, maybe screaming, but Judai couldn't hear through the pounding of his ears. That seal had been the only thing stopped Lua from pouring out every bit of power he had, and if Judai didn't help him control it now, he was going to _die_. But he couldn't—he couldn't handle the heat—

A hand landed hard on his shoulder, ripped him back so that he tumbled to the ground. His heart clogged his throat—Fujiwara, it was Fujiwara, he had gotten past the others and now he was—

But the coat of the man that snapped past him and dropped to his knees in front of Lua wasn't black—it was white.

“Jack?” Judai choked out. “What the hell—how did you—”

Jack pressed his hands against Lua's chest, seemingly completely unaware of the heat billowing out of Lua's frame.

“Jack, what are you doing?! You're going to—”

“ _Be killed”_ was what Judai was going to say, but his words died in his throat as he realized—Jack wasn't burning up like he should be. He didn't even flinch the way that Judai had against Lua's power. Something about him was—different. More radiant. He had changed in some fundamental, powerful way, and whatever that way was, he was…pressing Lua's power back.

“Lua, I'm here,” Jack said hoarsely. “Listen to me—you can hold this. I'm going to show you how. I know how to hold the fire. You just have to work with me.”

He put one of his hands on Luka's shoulders, and pushed her back, dragging Lua into his arms.

“Judai, take care of Luka, she couldn't stop herself from getting burned a little,” Jack said.

Judai hurried to pull himself across the ground to the shaking Luka—her hands looked badly burned, and there were red marks all down her arms, but he could heal that, no problem. He took Luka's hands in his and started to ease his shadows down his arms, wrapping her hands with them, soaking away the heat and burn. He glanced at Jack.

Jack held Lua in his arms, cradling him like he was a child. He was…he was filtering Lua's powers. It was like he was pulling the fire through himself, lessening their heat. Where did he learn to do that? And what was that card that he was holding in his free hand, the white Synchro card with the art he couldn't see?

Lua seemed to stir a bit, his eyes fluttering. He reached up blindly for Jack's hand, touching the one that held the card.

“What's…that?” he said, his voice sounding normal for the first time in hours.

Jack's tiny smile was more gentleness and kindness than Judai had ever seen on him since they had met.

“My new dragon,” he said. “I just met him. See? Red Nova. He's the one helping me calm your powers down. We learned a new ability together.”

“That's…r-really…cool…” Lua mumbled.

Judai could feel Luka's hands trembling in his.

“Jack…what exactly are you doing?” he whispered.

Jack let his gaze flicker up to Judai.

“I'm—not exactly sure,” he said, in an undertone as though that would stop Lua from hearing. “Red Nova is—talking in my head. He calls it Burning Soul. He says we're—we're aligning Lua's soul with ours, and taking out the excess power surge so that he doesn't—flat line.”

That was—far more complicated of a technique than Jack should conceivably be able to use at this moment, but he was definitely doing it. Judai head spun, but now was not the time for questions. Now was the time to just count his blessings that Jack appeared to be saving Lua's life.

He was definitely stabilizing, the heat and the glow was starting to fade, come under control. His breaths were slowing down from his original heavy gasps for air. It was working—gods—it was working.

Judai had finished healing Luka's hands minutes ago but she was shaking so badly that he was loathe to let go. With Lua currently taken care of, he had a moment now to spare for a glance at the others and how they were doing against Fujiwara.

The first thing he saw was Aki—her hair was freed from her pin, fluttering around her face as though it were fire itself. He could see her eyes sparkling from the blaze, the flames only larger since he had last seen them. Behind her, the rustling wings of Black Rose Dragon rose up, black head tilted towards the sky as she shrieked a battle cry. Crow appeared to be down, but not badly injured, clutching at his side as Aki backed up to cover him.

That left only—

Judai's eyes flickered towards the silhouette of Yusei.

He was glowing again.

Even against the rage of the flames, Yusei's white glow was radiant. He looked like he didn't even belong to this world, his sparkle matched only by the wings of Stardust as the dragon loomed protectively over him. Judai couldn't take his eyes off of him for a moment. He was… _brilliant_ , Judai thought. Not even just because of the glow, but because of…

The way he stood, shoulders back, his back held straight and strong—even from behind, Judai could see the determination in his stance, the power in his arm that held the Duel Disk aloft. Every movement he made, every card he placed on the Duel Disk was…mesmerizing.

So mesmerizing that Judai almost didn't notice when Fujiwara came raging out of the flames straight towards him.

“Get away from my son!” he screamed, his hands snapping out towards Jack.

Jack's eyes widened, he tried to pull Lua to safety behind his back. But Yusei was faster, bolting in between Fujiwara and them. His Duel Disk struck Fujiwara in the throat and the man gasped, staggering back for a moment. His eyes snapped up to Yusei's face.

Judai felt his blood run cold at the utter hatred that painted every line of Fujiwara's face. Who—who was he? This could not be the same Fujiwara Yusuke that he had known thirty years ago.

In slow motion, Judai saw Fujiwara's shadows fan out, saw Yusei fall back a few steps, Disk raised, Stardust's wings spreading.

A brief rush of panic clenched Judai's chest.

What if Yusei's new glow wasn't enough to protect him?

He thought Luka or Jack might have shouted at him, but he couldn't hear them. He dropped Luka's hands, staggered from his knees into a run, his wings pushing him, pushing him, faster, faster, _faster—_

His hand found Yusei's shoulder. Yusei gasped, his eyes flashed over to Judai's face as he fell, dragged back by Judai and flung to the ground.

All of Fujiwara's shadows descended at once. Judai didn't have the second he needed to prepare.

There wasn't any pain for the first two seconds. He almost thought it didn't actually happen, if he hadn't seen the black, shadowy lances all spearing him right in the stomach. But then they all yanked out of him at once and the blood started and that was when his brain realized that he had just been stabbed multiple times in the stomach and—oh, that was—not good.

He fell, head pounding, pain fluttering through him as though it were distant, far away. It should be—fine, right? He would—still heal from this, Yubel's powers were strong, and at least it was Yusei who had—

“Judai! Judai, oh my god, Judai, open your eyes, look at me, Judai!”

He could hear—Yusei? Yusei was screaming at him. Someone was cradling him, he could feel Yusei's arms, strong around his shoulders, holding him sitting upright. One hand was pressed to his chest; he could feel the warm blood seeping through his shirt anyway.

“I'm—fine,” he mumbled. Or did he imagine himself saying that?

He was so tired. He just wanted to keep his eyes shut.

“Judai, oh god, no, you have to stay with me. Stay with me! Don't close your eyes, don't close your eyes, oh my god—”

No, he just…this was so hard, he just…needed to sleep, just let him sleep this off, he would be fine, Yubel would heal him, he'd be okay, he'd…

Lips crashed against his.

For a second, his eyes flew open, and he thought—Yusei was trying to resuscitate him. But he was still breathing, he didn't need CPR, did Yusei even know CPR?

But no, it wasn't—Yusei was—

Yusei was kissing him.

Judai's brain couldn't quite register what was happening. He could feel Yusei's tears splashing against his cheek, Yusei's mouth still pressed to his, and the part of him that was still functioning reached up weakly with his arms, tried to hold Yusei's shoulders. He leaned harder into Yusei's kiss, not entirely sure what he was doing, he was too dizzy but—but this was—this felt okay, this felt—right.

Yusei broke away from him, cradled his face in his hand, his forehead pressed against Judai's as his tears continued to fall on Judai's face.

“I can't lose you, please, you have to open your eyes. You have to—”

Someone screamed. Judai struggled—he really did, he tried to open his eyes. All at once he remembered everyone that needed him, remembered everything that the fatigue was trying to make him forget, remembered that—there was still danger, he needed to protect them—

“Oh my god,” Yusei whispered, but Judai couldn't see.

He was already blacking out.

. . .

Yusei broke away from his wild, desperate kiss—he wasn't sure what had come over him but—no, no he knew exactly what had come over him, but he just needed Judai to open his damn eyes and—

“I can't lose you, please, you have to open your eyes. You have to—”

Luka screamed.

Yusei's eyes flashed up as a shadow fell over his face. Ice ran down his spine as Fujiwara's furious, full-black eyes glared down at him.

“Again, and again, and _again_ , this fucking idiot keeps getting in the way,” he hissed. “I don't have _time_ anymore!”

He raised a hand, and the shadows crawled eagerly over it, coating his hand like a thick leather glove—a leather glove with horrible, inch long spikes at the ends. Fujiwara raised his hand—Yusei knew he wasn't going to be able to move, not with Judai in his arms—those claws were going to rip his throat open.

He was going to die.

He almost closed his eyes. Instead, he just tightened his grip around Judai, and braced himself for what was coming.

Crimson fire struck Fujiwara right in the chest. His eyes bulged, mouth dropped open. He stumbled back into the flames, so hard that he had to fall back and drop to one knee. The shadows on his hand scattered, leaving him weaponless again.

Both he and Yusei looked back at the same time.

“Oh my god,” Yusei mumbled.

Lua stood with his hand raised, a crimson red glowing around his palm. He was breathing hard, shoulders heaving with every breath, but for the moment, he looked completely clear minded and perfectly safe.

And…

And his right arm was glowing.

With what looked like…

_A Signer Mark??_

Lua gasped for breath, a tear rolling down his cheek despite the angry wrinkle of his expression.

“Leave…my friends… _alone_ ,” he whispered.

Yusei chanced a quick glance at Fujiwara.

The black had drained completely out of his eyes all of a sudden. He could see their real color now—a faint violet-gray? He looked…smaller without that demonic presence in his eyes. For the first time since Yusei had seen this man, he finally looked…human.

“Lua,” he breathed. “Lua… _please_.”

His voice cracked. Yusei actually felt his heart clench up. That was the sound of a father trying to speak to his child, a father who was…hurt. Broken.

Lua stepped forward, wobbling. Jack tried to stand up to support him but Lua threw his arm away.

“Get away from them,” he said. “Get away from them! I won't let you hurt them anymore!”

“Lua, please, you don't understand, I'm trying to protect you—”

“Then where _were_ you?” Lua screamed. “Where _were_ you? For five _years,_ where were you?”

Fujiwara flinched as though he had been punched in the gut. He staggered to his feet. He looked as though he were going to step forward again, but Lua pushed towards him, hand still raised and glowing.

“You're not our dad,” he said, tears rolling down our cheeks. “You're a _monster_.”

Fujiwara entire face seemed to shatter. He only stood there for a moment, wobbling. He looked like he was going to fall over.

He looked so…

Small. So thin.

Yusei almost…felt sorry for him.

Fujiwara's mouth opened, and closed. A single tear leaked down his cheek.

Then he ducked his head, turned on his heel, and vanished into a shadow.

For a moment, no one moved. No one spoke. There was only the roar of the flames, the distant screech of sirens. Those were pretty late, Yusei thought.

Judai was heavy in his arms. For a moment, he felt a tremor of panic in his chest, eyes flicking down to Judai's face. Was he—

Judai's chest rose and fell, regular, easy. Yusei's hand still pressed to the wounds in his stomach, but despite the slippery blood, when he moved his hand away, it looked like the holes were already sealing. Bastard—scaring him like that. Yusei felt the barest hint of a laugh bubbling up in his throat. He almost couldn't believe this. They were alive. They were all alive. They had made it out—Lua was okay, Judai was healing, everything was—they had _survived_.

He turned over his shoulder, a relieved grin spreading over his face as he turned back towards the others, to check if they were okay.

He turned just in time to see the glowing fading from Lua, to see the boy keeling slowly over towards the ground. Luka reached out, Jack stood up to try to catch him. He must be tired, Yusei thought—after this entire night, he was going to need all the rest in the world—

A shadow bolted past, smacking Jack as he reached for Lua. Jack swore as he flinched back and staggered. Luka cried out, Yusei felt his smile vanishing, he tried to get up but Judai was still in his arms and he couldn't—

Luciano skidded up the walls on his skates, landing lightly on the very edge of the wall. An unconscious Lua hanging from his arm.

“Thanks for that, dweebs,” he said. “Once he left, I was out of his dumb shadows.”

He grinned at them, his face looking wild and feral in the crackle of the flames.

“Don't worry! We'll take care of him! Later, dweebs!”

And with a laugh, before anyone could even breathe, he was dropping off the side of the Duel Lane.

Luka screamed. Jack was reaching for his Duel Disk. Aki let out a shriek of rage, bolting for Black Rose and leaping onto her back, the dragon zooming into the air and diving off the side of the Lane in hot pursuit.

Yusei couldn't think. He couldn't feel.

Everything was not okay.

Everything hadn't turned out all right.

 _Lua_. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> -pokes head out of hole- -drops this chapter here- -sneaks away-
> 
> sorry about the wait once again ^^; I’m trying hard but I guess life happens. Thanks for all your continued support! Love you guys <3


	21. Cygnus

_Where…where am…I…?_

His head hurt…there was a skitter down his skin, the ghost of a burning fire that had enveloped him and fizzled away. His throat was dry. Where…gosh, what was…

He tried to move his arms and found that he couldn't. His legs wouldn't function either. Could he move anything?

He opened his mouth and wiggled his tongue. That was working…what about his eyes?

Lua's eyes slowly peeled open, the light stabbing into his sight—where was he? He—he couldn't see. Everything was just pure white, everywhere—

His heart was thrumming now, his throat closing up. He remembered the pain and the heat and the fear and he remembered his dad attacking Yusei and almost killing him but what had happened after that where was he where was he where was he—

“ _Sh….sh…it's okay…you are all right…”_

The voice was…distant. Echoey, somehow…tinny. But there was still something…familiar about it? Either way, the sound was comforting. Wherever he was, he wasn't alone.

“ _Hush…it's all right. You are safe here. I promise.”_

Lua tugged on his limbs again, but although feeling was starting to come back into them, he still couldn't move them. He tried to look down at his own body, and slowly, he managed to get it to come into focus. White bands of energy encircled his wrists and his ankles, suspending him in the middle of the white landscape—as far as he could tell, he was the only one here in this vast expanse of white. Then—then where was the owner of the voice?

“Hello?” he called, his voice echoing oddly in his own ears, as though the room were much smaller than it appeared. “H-hello? Who's there?”

He heard something move, but couldn't see anything. He tried to crane to look over his shoulder, but there was nothing behind him, or below him, or above him either. Just…white. He struggled against the energy holding him again, but it was tough and wouldn't give.

“ _Please…relax…it's all right. You're safe. You need to relax.”_

“I-I'm not gonna!” Lua shouted, angry at himself when his voice wavered. “Who are you?? What do you want with me? Where am I?”

“ _Hush…hush…”_

A hand fell onto his hair, and he flinched, trying to struggle away. He tried to look, see who was holding him, but all of a sudden he—he couldn't. His throat tightened and his pulse raced. Who was it? Who was stroking his hair and why did it—why did it feel comforting? Like…like a mom, or a dad…

He forced his head around, forced himself to look.

Whoever it was, his eyes couldn't process it. His brain told him that it was someone he should know, but his eyes wouldn't focus. His mind couldn't wrap itself around the concept, and his mouth couldn't form the name. The harder he tried, the more the sounds ripped away from him.

“W-who are you?” he tried, even though he _knew_ , his brain just couldn't understand.

The person did not respond, continuing to stroke his hair gently, soothingly. Lua struggled again, tried to pull free.

“Let me go,” he said, his voice cracking. “M-my friends—they'll be worried—”

“ _Sh…”_ the person said, cutting him off. _“Sh. You are safer here.”_

“No,” Lua said. He forced his voice to get louder and stronger. “No, I—you can't keep me here! I won't let you!”

“ _Sh…sh…it's all right.”_

“No, it's _not!_ ”

Lua threw his head back, trying to get the person's hand off of him. The person drew back, quiet. They tilted their head at Lua.

“ _I'm here to protect you,”_ they said.

“I don't want you to!” Lua said. “I want to go back to my sister!”

The person shook their head.

“ _You can't…I'm sorry. I need you.”_

“I don't want to help you!” Lua said, throwing himself against his restraints again. “B-besides! I'm useless! I don't have any powers; you can't use me for anything!”

The person shook their head again, looking sad. They stepped forward so that they were suddenly standing in front of Lua, reaching out to touch his shoulder tentatively, and then squeeze it gently. It was so _familiar_ …

“ _I need your help,”_ they said again. _“To…to fix things. To make sure this doesn't happen again.”_

Their fingers trailed up briefly to the side of Lua's head.

Lua gasped, his head throwing back—images exploded over his brain, splashes of color and smoke and explosions and the distant echo of screams and then a vast explosion of white that blotted out everything—

Lua gasped as his head flopped forward, eyes bulging from the vivid flashback burned into his eyes. The person didn't say anything, didn't touch him as he gasped for breath.

“W-what was that?” Lua gasped. Were there…tears rolling out of his eyes? What had…what had he just seen?

The person leaned forward, brushing the tears gently from his cheeks. Lua tried to flinch away, but he found all of a sudden that there was no strength in his neck.

“ _That's why you went back, the first time, wasn't it?”_ the person said. _“That's why you started this…started the first loop.”_

“I…what?”

The person leaned away, took a few steps back. Lua leaned forward in spite of himself.

“D-don't go,” he said, his voice cracking. He didn't want to but—but he was alone out here, alone except for this strange, familiar person that he couldn't understand.

The person shook their head yet again.

“ _It's all right. You're not ready yet. I…I have to…finish. I have to finish the Circuit…then…then I need your help…to fix this…”_

They stood there for a long moment, the only sound between them the echo of Lua's breaths. Then they sighed, softly.

“ _I'm so sorry,”_ they said. _“I'm…so sorry.”_

They leaned forward, touched Lua on the side of the head.

“ _Please…go back to sleep…until it's time…”_

Lua fought it, he fought the seeping sense of exhaustion that spread through him from the point of contact, but it was in vain. The next thing he knew, he was falling under the blackness once again, and he remembered nothing else.

. . .

“Why didn't you call us??”

“Jun, please…not now. Not now.”

Manjoume was so red in the face that he looked like he was going to burst into flames. Asuka held his arm, rubbing against his sleeve with one thumb in a soothing gesture that didn't seem to be helping. Her eyes flickered across the table to Judai, but Judai didn't look up. Yusei couldn't blame him. Yusei didn't want to have to look up either.

Silence rang through the small kitchen for a long, long moment.

Luka had stopped crying a while ago, just sitting blankly on the couch, tucked under Crow's arm. Crow looked exhausted, but he hadn't made a move to fall asleep. His fingers stroke gently through Luka's hair, released from their pigtails around her shoulders for once. Manjoume stood on the opposite end of the table with Asuka beside him, and Shou was sitting very quietly on the other side of Manjoume, his eyes on the table, expression unreadable. Aki, for her part, didn't seem able to stay still, walking in circles around the motorcycles parked in the garage as she constantly rolled and unrolled the clip from her hair. Bruno perched on his own bike, fiddling with some bolts between his fingers.

Jack wasn't present. Yusei had heard the sound of him throwing things up in the loft a while back, but the sounds had died some time ago. He could imagine he was probably sitting on the edge of the bed, crying quietly into his hands in that angry way he had when he was a child, after he had finished punching things hoping that it would make him feel better.

Yusei's hands curled into fists in his lap. He wished he could start punching things. He wished he was allowed to start yelling, like Manjoume. Wished he could just grab the table and flip the whole thing over and then start snapping the legs off of it one at a time so that he could throw them across the room.

But that wouldn't help. It never would. It would only make the situation worse.

Lua was gone.

He hadn't been able to protect him. After everything that had happened, he hadn't…been able to do…anything…

Yusei squeezed his eyes shut and ground his fists into them, trying to knead the tears back. God, that wasn't helpful right now—they had to come up with a plan. Something. They had to do something? Right? _Right?_

But Judai wouldn't even look up from the table. Yusei couldn't see his eyes. Couldn't see past the veil of bangs that he had let fall over his eyes.

 _Say something_ , he thought. _Please. Judai. Please say something. Anything. Talk to me._

But no one did. No one said anything. It was as though they couldn't process it—any of it. Lua was _gone_. They had no idea where. No idea what had happened, or where he could have gone. What they could be doing to him. Why did they want him? Was it because, as Judai had said, he was the one that had started Judai's time loop in the first place, by dragging him to the future? But what did that even _mean?_

The door swung open softly, slowly—if Yusei had gotten around to fixing the squeak in the hinge, he probably wouldn't have even been able to hear it opening.

“Um, excuse me? I'm sorry, no one was responding to the knock so I…is this where Jack Atlas lives…?”

In the darkness of the garage, with only the kitchen's faint light illuminating the figure, Yusei couldn't really see him. He caught the glint of pale green eyes, the edge of blue hair, a taller figure with fair skin and a curious expression, brows furrowed slightly and lips parted. Who was this—a new enemy?

Yusei tried to struggle to his feet as everyone else's eyes snapped to the new figure. Judai's head jerked up and he stood so quickly that his chair fell over, eyes wide and wild as he—

Froze. His mouth fell open.

“…Jo…han?”

For a second, no one spoke. Then the new man—Johan?—smiled, his teeth flashing white in the light from the table.

“I found the right place!” he said cheerily. “Sorry about the wait, by the way, I got a little turned around and ran into some other troubles, and—”

His expression changed as he took in the sight of the room.

“Something…happened, huh?”

. . .

Judai's head was spinning. He wasn't imagining this, right? That was Johan. That was _Johan_ that Asuka was running around the table to meet, that was _Johan_ that Manjoume was punching on the shoulder and demanding where he had been, that was _Johan_ who was smiling back at Shou as Shou asked him what had taken him so long.

He felt a hand on his elbow, and only then did he realized that he was trembling. He looked down to see Yusei looking up at him, dark eyes curious.

“Are you okay?”

Judai felt a lump in his throat, and he pressed his free hand to his mouth for a second, closing his eyes to compose himself. _Was_ he all right? He wasn't totally sure.

Then he opened his eyes and saw Johan, saw Johan looking right at him with that quirked smile on his lips, that cheerful face that had always been there with a smile for him when he had shown up on his doorstep like a lost puppy.

He felt, for a strange second, like the world had fallen into place again.

Yusei's hand slid down into Judai's, and Judai clung to it, feeling tears spring to his eyes.

“Yeah,” he mumbled. “Yeah, I'm okay. I…”

What kind of feeling could he put to this—this sudden lightening of his chest? He felt…

_Hopeful._

Yubel sighed contentedly at the back of his head.

— _About time he showed up—_

Johan smiled as he shrugged off the other's questions and walked over to Judai.

“Wow,” he said, eyes bright. “Look at you—you're shorter than me now!”

Judai snorted, but he had noticed as well. Johan had shot up; he was almost a head and a half taller than Judai now.

“You had thirty years on me,” he said. “It's barely a contest.”

“I know, but you're so _tiny_!” Johan said jokingly, ruffling Judai's hair as though he were his little brother. “This is funny; you've always been just a hair taller than me.”

“Yeah, yeah, you win,” Judai said, rolling his eyes.

Johan grinned at him, and the sparkle in those eyes made Judai feel suddenly like everything was going to be okay.

“Where have you _been?_ ” Manjoume said again.

“I told you, my flight was delayed,” Johan said, rubbing the back of his neck as he smiled, embarrassed. “I came as quickly as I could—”

“No, I mean _before_ this,” Manjoume said. “It was a goddamn miracle that Asuka was able to get a hold of you for this. What have you been doing?? We keep trying to coordinate, and you're never anywhere to be seen, much less at the school you're supposed to be taking care of.”

“Honestly, you're almost as bad as Samejima sometimes when it comes to being a headmaster,” Shou said, raising an eyebrow at him.

“Ouch,” Johan said, wincing with a soft laugh. “I'm sorry, I really am. I spend a lot of time looking for kids that might be safer at my school, I'm not always near my phone. It gets busy, you know?”

That sounded…like a very fast answer to Judai. He frowned. Was Johan…hiding something? From the others? Why would he do that?

“So, anyway,” Johan said. “Who's going to fill me in on what happened? I got sidetracked helping a Jack Atlas, then I realized that he was in the same team that you guys all told me you were going to be helping, and I thought finding my way to where he was would get me to everyone—and I was right!”

He smiled, looking around at the otherwise shocked and still somber faces. Judai suddenly realized how surprising this must be for the ones that didn't know Johan, and he quickly moved to correct this.

“Guys, this is Johan,” he said, looking back around at the others of Team 5Ds. “Johan Andersen. He's another friend of mine.”

Aki gasped.

“This—you're Johan Andersen?” she said, her voice jumping. “The founder of Crystal Academy?”

Johan's eyes lit up.

“You know about my school?” he said, turning towards her.

“Of course I do!” Aki said, her eyes wide. “I mean…I…”

She blushed suddenly, looking down at her feet, embarrassed.

“Well, I mean…we have…butted heads in the past,” she mumbled.

Johan blinked, tilting his head curiously. Aki didn't look up for a few moments, as though hoping everyone would forget she had said anything.

“I mean…the Arcadia Movement,” she finally mumbled. “I was…kind of…that poster child.”

Johan blinked again, and then comprehension dawned over his face. He mouthed something to himself that looked like “Black Rose Witch,” and his eyes returned to Aki with a new light.

“I'm—not with them anymore,” Aki said quickly. “And I—really admire what you did with—”

Johan held up a reassuring hand, smiling.

“I'm not going to bite,” he said, laughing. “Wherever you came from before, you're definitely here with Judai and everyone, so I'm sure you're a friend! I'm flattered though, that you like my school.”

Johan turned back towards everyone else.

“So, does anyone want to introduce me to everyone else? And oh, right, I need to be filled in, it looks like something pretty nasty just happened. What can I do?”

“Judai's probably the best one to do introductions,” Asuka said, smiling. She looked like a weight had been pulled off her shoulders, the same way that Judai felt.

Judai blinked, and then suddenly came back to himself.

“Right!” he said. “That's Crow Hogan, and Bruno, and Luka over there. And that's Izayoi Aki.”

Aki seemed to have gotten herself composed again, and she half smiled at Johan. Crow looked over the couch with a confused expression, and even Luka peeked over Crow's shoulder curiously. Bruno only barely looked up.

“And this is Fudo Yusei,” Judai said, nodding beside him.

Johan grinned and nodded at Yusei, who nodded tentatively back, still looking a little uncertain. Johan's eyes flickered for a moment over Judai's hand, and only then did Judai remember that he was still holding hands with Yusei. Judai couldn't be certain, but he almost thought Johan's smile got a little wider for a second.

“I'm glad to be on board,” he said. “Now…”

His smile finally faded to a serious expression, his green eyes taking on a hard, gemstone glitter.

“What can I do to help?”

. . .

It was very, very quiet all of a sudden. Yusei could hear the silence ringing in his ears, the aftershock of chattering voices pressed in on his eardrums. Had everyone really just dropped off to sleep so quickly?

Yusei paused in the hallway, trying to listen for the sounds of his friends sleeping. Jack had only come down after Johan had already been filled in, and then he had explained how Johan had helped him get Carly. Carly was fine, according to Johan, and he wouldn't have left her at the hospital if he hadn't thought so. His Duel Spirit friends Cobalt Eagle and Sapphire Pegasus were watching over her.

It seemed that he brought an entire entourage of Duel Spirits with him, because Luka had suddenly had her attention taken away by something that Yusei couldn't see, and had retreated off to a corner with them. When she had fallen asleep, Crow had taken her upstairs to use his bed, and Crow himself had passed out on the couch. Asuka, Manjoume, Shou, and Johan had discussed and decided it would be best if they camped out with the rest of the group. Manjoume, in fact, had insisted that they take turns taking watches, just in case, and had gone outside on his own to take the first one. The other three were asleep in sleeping bags downstairs.

Jack was upstairs in his own bed, although Yusei was certain he wasn't sleeping. Yusei had insisted that Aki take his. Bruno had told him that he had no intention of sleeping, not yet anyway, and Yusei could still hear him click clacking on the computer downstairs. Yusei wasn't sure, yet, where he was going to sleep. Could he sleep at all, after all of this?

He heard a soft sound, and then the door to the guest room opened, Judai appearing in his pajamas. He looked exhausted, his eyes sunken and dark.

“Oh, sorry,” he said. “I'm not trying to hog the room to myself or anything. Just changing.”

Yusei tilted his head.

“Where are you planning on going?”

“Huh? Oh, I thought I'd camp out downstairs with the others, or something, let you have the real bed,” Judai said. “Since you gave up yours, and all.”

“No, no, no,” Yusei said, shaking his head. “You stay right where you are, okay? You need that sleep.”

“So do you,” Judai pointed out.

They both fell silent, neither of them quite looking at the other.

Yusei couldn't help it. The replay of his desperate action back in the fight before…played over in his mind. Did…did Judai remember? Did he remember that Yusei had…kissed him…?

He cleared his throat softly.

“It seems like adding Johan to the group really boosted the morale when we needed it,” he said.

Judai nodded.

“Johan's always been good at that,” he said. “He's like floodlight, lighting everybody else up without even trying.”

Yusei glanced at Judai, and found that he was smiling softly, his eyes distant. Yusei felt something in his chest jump a little, but he didn't know why.

“You seem close,” he said.

“…yeah,” Judai said. “We were…pretty good friends in high school. I mean…we went through…some pretty bad times together.”

All of a sudden, his face seemed to fall, his eyes going out of focus. Yusei wanted to reach out, wanted to take Judai's shoulders and pull him against him.

He didn't though. He swallowed through a suddenly thick throat.

“It must be good to see him again,” he said.

Judai nodded, his eyes still distant.

“It…really is,” he mumbled. “Johan just…always seems to know what to do, you know…? He was…always better with this than I ever was. I feel like…like there's a good chance again, you know?”

Yusei looked down at the floor. Yeah. He understood that feeling—the feeling that someone could cast a far better light than you could. The feeling of safety that came with that person being around, taking the reins away from you, or at least, making you feel like you didn't need to hold the reins all by yourself, that person that was and always would be the better leader than he was. For just the briefest moment, the faint smile of Kiryu flashed over his mind.

He nodded.

“Yeah,” he said. “I understand that.”

For a moment, neither of them spoke again. For some reason, Yusei felt his stomach clench up. He understood Judai's feelings…so why did that understanding make him feel…sad? Why did he feel so…off? The replay of his kiss played over his mind again, and he dropped his gaze quickly down, as though that would erase it.

Maybe it was better if he never mentioned it.

“Well, I don't want to keep you awake,” he said. “I'll—”

Judai's hand snaked out before Yusei could move, snagging the fabric of his sleeve. Yusei paused. He looked first at Judai's hand, and then, cautiously, lifted his eyes to Judai's.

Judai was staring right at him, an expression that Yusei couldn't quite understand on his face.

“Wait,” Judai said, and his voice cracked. He pressed his free hand to his mouth for a moment, swallowing. Then he let it drop and lifted his eyes back to Yusei. “I wanted to…you saved my life, today, Yusei.”

Yusei shook his head.

“You saved me just as often,” he said. “In fact, I think I got in your way…”

“No,” Judai said. “No, Yusei, I…I don't think I would have…gotten through this fight without you. I really don't.”

His hand slid down Yusei's arm until it found his hand, and his fingers curled into Yusei's. Yusei felt a warmth explode from his palm and run all the way up his arm, making his heart flutter.

“I…what I'm trying to say is…”

Judai fumbled for a moment, looking down at the floor. When he raised his eyes to Yusei again, they were so clear that Yusei sucked in a breath.

“I want you to be there, from now on,” he said. “Please…I _need_ you to be there. I need you to be at my side when we fight again. Not behind me, or in front of me, but…but right next to me.”

He swallowed, trying to smile.

“I must sound…so selfish,” he said.

He tried to draw his hand away—but Yusei gripped it tighter. Judai blinked at the sudden movement, his lips parting as Yusei pulled Judai a little closer to him. His hand was so warm, even through Yusei's gloves, and he drew it closer to him, clasping it between both of his.

“No,” he said. “No, you don't. You don't sound selfish at all.”

His heart clenched up, and he pulled Judai's hand up towards him, pressed Judai's fingers to his lips. Through his half closed eyes, he thought he saw Judai's eyes widen, and he wondered…was he going too far?

“I want the same thing,” he whispered into Judai's fingers. “And I…I would be honored if I could continue to fight next to you.”

For a breath, neither spoke, neither made a move or a sound.

And then quietly, Judai stepped closer to him. Yusei's lips parted as Judai pulled his hand down, so that both his and Yusei's hands were moved away from Yusei's face. Yusei knew what was happening just before it happened—and he leaned into it.

Judai's lips found his as his eyes closed, and for a few, beautiful moments, Judai was the only thing in the world. There was only the taste of him on his lips, only the feel of his hands curled into his and his body pressed up against his chest.

When they broke away, it was like the whole space between them was full of stars—shining, sparkling…magical.

“Yusei,” Judai said, his voice sounding low, thick—as though he were going to cry. “I never…I never want you to disappear. Please.”

Yusei responded by putting his forehead against Judai's, and closing his eyes with a sigh.

“Judai,” he whispered, and he felt Judai shiver. “I need to tell you something.”

“I do too.”

“Do you want to go first?”

Yusei felt Judai hesitate. Yusei took over by leaning forward and kissing him gently one more time. When he broke apart, he opened his eyes to see Judai's—to see the fear, the uncertainty, the desperation, mixed with the hope, the longing…

The love.

“I love you,” Yusei whispered.

Judai let out a long, low sigh, like the sound of the universe releasing its long held breath.

“Gods,” he whispered, like a prayer of thanks. “I love you so goddamn much.”

And then, almost as an afterthought,

“Is…that okay?”

Yusei smiled as he slid his arms over Judai's shoulders, pulling him into his embrace, and he felt Judai's arms wrap around him tightly.

“It's better than okay,” he whispered. “God…it's…it's…”

It was more than he had words for in that moment. Yusei curled one hand into the back of Judai's hair and dropped his face against Judai's neck, breathing him in.

“Stay with me?” Judai whispered.

“Forever,” Yusei whispered back.

In the darkness of the hallway, it felt like the universe was surrounding them, with the pinpricks of stars lighting up around them.

It felt _right_.

. . .

It was cold.

Johan felt the air biting at him as he stepped outside, and he frowned. The heat of summer had been record for this year, and it seemed…odd to him that it would be so cold outside, even at night.

Manjoume glanced up as Johan closed the door softly behind him. Johan could see the faint flicker of a lighter as Manjoume lit up the end of his cigarette between his fingers.

“You're early for your shift,” Manjoume said between his fingers. He let the lighter go out, and took a drag on the cigarette, blowing out the smoke into the night.

“You're still smoking?” Johan said.

“Don't you mother me, Johan. Not tonight.”

Johan shrugged helplessly. Manjoume briefly glared at him over the tip of his cigarette, then shoved it back between his teeth.

They stood in the dark silence for a few moments, the only light coming from faraway street lamps, the stars overhead, and the tip of Manjoume's burning cigarette.

“Seriously,” Manjoume said suddenly. “Where _have_ you been? I know you're not just out looking for new kid recruits for your school.”

Johan glanced down at the ground. The cold air whispered at the back of his neck, and he rubbed at it absently.

“You're in and out of contact more than Judai ever was,” Manjoume said. “Ever since he disappeared. And don't tell me you've just been fighting off Arcadia Movement or some bullshit.”

“That _was_ part of it,” Johan said. “Fighting with them over young psychics was a big part of what I've been doing.”

Manjoume gnawed on the end of the cigarette.

“But that just implied that it wasn't the _only_ thing you were doing.”

Johan looked down again. Ruby was sitting at his feet, her tail flicking back and forth across the ground. Light refracted off of the globe of her tail, sending little glimmers of red across the ground. When she noticed he was looking at her, she immediately leaped onto his leg and clambered her way up him like he was a tree, finding her way to his shoulder. Johan reached up to stroke her chin absently, feeling her purr vibrate through her chin. His eyes raised up to the stars, the burning spots of light among the black.

“Do you ever think,” Johan said, “about how the world is mostly darkness?”

“Huh?”

Johan stared at the sky. The breeze ruffled his hair.

“Out beyond the atmosphere, there's just…space,” he said. “Vast, vast amounts of space…only rarely broken up by the spots of light that are stars.”

He let his eyes fall back down, but he didn't look quite at Manjoume yet.

“But without both of those…without the darkness of the space between the stars…and without the stars themselves…we couldn't have life.”

“Johan, what kind of philosophical bullshit are you trying to throw at me today?”

Johan glanced at Manjoume, and he wondered, for a moment, if Manjoume would be able to sense the secret in his eyes. If Manjoume would know what Johan was hiding…if he would demand to know more.

“We've always needed both,” Johan said. “Light and darkness. The universe knows it…why don't humans know it?”

Manjoume shifted.

“You know, Johan, you're sounding kinda suspiciously like those Yliaster nutjobs,” he said. “With their 'balance' bullshit.”

Johan grimaced.

“Am I? That wasn't what I meant.”

Manjoume shook his head. He pulled his cigarette from his teeth and let it hang at his side for a moment.

“You're really good at dodging my fucking questions,” Manjoume said. But then he laughed, a soft, barking sound that let up a haze of smoke. He ground his cigarette out against the wall behind him. “Stop acting like I'm going to rip your throat out, goddamn. You and I both know we've been through too much together for me to distrust you.”

Johan let out a breath that he didn't know he had been holding.

“I know,” he said, his breath leaving a slight haze in the cold air. “I swear to you Manjoume-san…what I'm doing…I can't talk about it yet. But it won't put any of us in danger. I swear to you.”

Manjoume snorted.

“As if I could believe you'd do anything to hurt Judai,” he said, rolling his eyes. “I'm suspicious, not stupid.”

He shoved his hands into both his pockets, eyes up on the stars. Then he smirked.

“You and your poetic bullshit,” he said, shaking his head. “But somehow…you make sense; you know?”

He smirked towards Johan again, then yawned loudly.

“Well, have fun keeping watch,” he said. “Asuka'll be out after you.”

“Right,” Johan said. “Sleep well, Manjoume.”

Manjoume snorted, but he smiled as he passed. He even clapped Johan once on the shoulder before he disappeared inside the garage.

Then Johan was alone, with only Ruby on his shoulder. He looked up into the sky again, at the stars.

“We need both,” he whispered. “Light and darkness.”

His hand slid into his pocket of his own accord, and he pulled the little necklace free. Nothing more than a small sphere of white, like a tiny star taken from the sky and forged into a diamond from a silver chain. He stared at it for a while, and then back up at the stars.

Then he let it fall into his palm, and he crushed it under his fingers.

“Sorry,” he whispered as he let the dust slip through his fingers and onto the ground. “But…after what I saw…”

His mind flashed back, back to the kitchen, back to Judai.

Back to the beautiful black and white inter-webbing of fate strings that he had seen, all tied beautifully together with a twisted red string that stretched between him and the dark haired boy at his side.

“…I think they can do it,” he mumbled. “I think…they can do it.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Am I making it too complicated again? I totally am. Buuuuuuut I am enjoying myself and I think it's working out better than I even imagined it would, so I'm gonna roll with it! I hope you're enjoying yourself, too! :D Thanks again for all your support, and I hope to see you again soon with another update!


	22. Orion

Judai woke slowly, his eyes only half open. He felt…remarkably relaxed. He couldn't remember the last time he had woken up so easily, so gently. Most mornings started off with him in a cold sweat or blinking blearily at the world, wondering how it could possibly be morning already.

It was the sound of Yusei's breath that got him to open his eyes, and remember exactly where he was.

Sometime during the night, either he or Yusei seemed to have rolled themselves towards the other, and Judai was currently nestled right against Yusei's side, his head resting on top of Yusei's arm and one arm draped over Yusei's chest. Yusei lay on his back, his other hand resting lightly on Judai's arm. Judai didn't think he'd be able to move. He felt perfectly warm and cozy right here, as though this were a space made just for him. From this distance, he could count every one of Yusei's eyelashes, could trace the curve of his cheek bones and note the details of the way his dark hair fell in strands across his forehead, mussed up a bit from sleeping. Judai kind of wanted to reach up and brush the hair out of Yusei's face, but he didn't want to shift too much, he felt so perfectly cozy and…and _safe_. Yusei made him feel so _safe._

Judai couldn't remember the last time he had been so comfortable while sleeping.

He let out a heavy sigh, nestling his head a little closer to Yusei's and letting his eyes close again. He wasn't sure how early it was, but there was only a bit of light filtering through the shades, so he figured…five more minutes…couldn't hurt, right?

A tremor suddenly ran through him, and Yubel hissed awake in the back of his head as the sensation snapped through him and caused his eyes to fly open.

Fujiwara was here.

Panic attacked Judai's brain—where was he? How close? How come Judai hadn't sensed him right away? Was he just over them now, was he going to try and kill Yusei again?? Gods, no—

He slowly, slowly calmed down as his brain honed in on Fujiwara's aura and he realized that he was outside, and he wasn't moving. He wasn't coming inside. Judai let his breaths slow down, tried to regain some measure of calm. His eyes flickered up to Yusei's face, his calm, quiet, sleeping expression.

Then, reluctantly, Judai carefully slipped out of Yusei's hold and off the bed. Yusei stirred ever so slightly, but luckily, he didn't awaken. Judai quickly changed out of his pajama pants into a pair of jeans and threw his jacket on before stepping quietly into the hallway. He closed and locked the door behind him, leaving behind a trace of defensive magic…just in case Fujiwara decided to try anything.

It was incredibly quiet. He could hear his own heartbeat as he slipped down the stairs and then over to the garage door. His friends were all asleep in their sleeping bags, Bruno having passed out at his computer. Judai couldn't remember who had decided to take the final watch for the morning, but evidently it had gotten lost in the shuffle because he counted all four of them asleep—that would explain why Fujiwara hadn't yet been noticed.

Judai let himself out into the cool morning, mist trailing around the movement of the door. The sun was only just peeking over the horizon, sending glimmers of light through the mist and obscuring large swaths. It took him a few minutes before he finally located Fujiwara.

It was a wonder that he hadn't been able to see him right away—in his long black coat, he stuck out like a red umbrella at a funeral against the white mist.

Fujiwara stood stock still, his full black eyes trained directly at Judai, face unmoving. Judai's hands curled into fists at his sides, to hide the shake. He shoved them into his pockets as he walked to meet Fujiwara.

“What do you want?” Judai said.

Fujiwara didn't answer for a moment—for a moment, it almost seemed like…was Judai really talking to Fujiwara?

And then the man's face stirred, and his lips parted.

“I'm here to extend one last chance,” he whispered. “Lua's already been taken—you know what I have at stake.”

“Are you here to help?” Judai said, narrowing his eyes. “Are you here to work with us? Asuka and the others are here. They said that you were fighting alongside them.”

He chewed on his lip for a second.

“You could…you could stop this. Join up with us. We'll get Lua back together.”

Fujiwara snorted, the breath sending the mist into a swirl about his face.

“We've tried that route before, Judai,” he said. “It didn't go well.”

Judai blinked once, confused for a beat. Then he remembered—whatever happened in the future, Fujiwara remembered. Judai's hands curled tighter into his pockets. How come _he_ couldn't remember? What had happened to make him keep forgetting, to not even remember that he had already tried this before? What made him and Fujiwara different?

“We can try again,” Judai said. He stepped forward, pulling one hand free of his pocket and holding it out towards Fujiwara. “Fujiwara, please…you know more about what's happening than anyone. If we pool our resources—we don't have to be enemies.”

Fujiwara didn't make a move to accept Judai's hand. His lip actually curled as he glanced down at the offered hand, his own hands remaining at his sides.

“No,” Fujiwara said. “That route cannot and will not work. I've tried, Judai. I've tried _everything_. I even tried to protect these new friends of yours; I tried to stop them from coming to harm. I tried, and tried, and tried…and you never did a damn thing to make that easier.”

Judai tried to tamp down the curl of anger in his stomach, leaving his hand outstretched. He could make this work. He had to. If Fujiwara was no longer their enemy, they could focus in. He wouldn't have to worry about Yusei's safety, they could focus all of their energy on Yliaster, and Fujiwara could explain everything. He had to convince him. He had to convince Fujiwara to stop his twisted idea of how to save the future and his family.

“Fujiwara,” he whispered, pleading. “Please.”

But Fujiwara only shook his head.

“You don't understand,” he said, and his voice actually…broke. “And I can't even hate you for it. I can't.”

He rubbed one hand over his mouth, looking down. He shook his head again. He actually looked…upset?

“We've both tried this so many times,” he said. “But I can only see one possibility anymore. There's only one way to stop this loop, to stop everything bad from everything. There's only one way to save the future.”

His black eyes lifted to Judai then, and despite the lack of pupils or irises, Judai could feel that gaze boring right into his.

“I've come to only one conclusion,” Fujiwara said. “And that's that Yusei has to die.”

Judai's hand curled back with a snap, almost involuntarily. Immediately, he could hear the blood rushing in his ears as his heartbeat accelerated and his pulse leaped. His mouth was dry and he felt almost dizzy with the sudden rush of anger.

“I will never let that happen,” Judai hissed.

“You're blind, Judai,” Fujiwara said, but he didn't even sound…angry. He sounded sad, hollow, empty. “You're blinded because you love him. I don't…blame you for that.”

Judai was shaking so badly that he almost didn't catch the way that Fujiwara's voice caught on the last sentence. He didn't know what that meant—didn't know that he could bring himself to care about what it could mean. Fujiwara wasn't going to stop this madness. He wasn't going to stop trying to kill Yusei.

“I will never, _ever_ let you touch him,” Judai hissed. He could barely think for how badly he was shaking. “If you come near him again, Fujiwara, I won't hesitate anymore. I'll kill you.”

Fujiwara inclined his head slightly as he stepped back, coat fluttering in the breeze.

“I figured we'd reach this point. We always do.”

Judai almost couldn't breathe, he was so angry. After all of this—after everything—Fujiwara was still going to do this? He was still going to fight them?

He was still going to try to kill Yusei?

Judai opened his mouth but Fujiwara talked over him.

“Let me just ask you one thing, Judai,” he said. “Do you think Yusei wants to hurt anyone?”

Judai blinked, so shocked by the question that he almost couldn't speak for a moment.

“Wha—of course not! Yusei would never hurt anyone!”

Fujiwara closed his eyes for just a moment. Then his full black eyes opened again, and trained on Judai.

“Then don't you think he'd want you to stop him if he knew what he was becoming?”

And before Judai could say anything, or ask what he meant, Fujiwara had turned around and vanished like a shadow in the sunlight.

Leaving Judai alone with his thoughts as the sun slowly began to burn the mist away.

**. . .**

Johan had made himself busy in the kitchen by the time Yusei woke up. He felt incredibly well-rested, far more than he usually did, anyway. He had woken up to find Judai flopping back down next to him, mumbling a sorry about having gotten up. Yusei had only smiled at him—he couldn't remember the last time he had slept so easily, and then Judai was crawling back under the covers again to snuggle up against him like a cat, and Yusei had just laughed softly as he wrapped an arm around him again. _“Five more minutes,”_ Judai had mumbled as he grinned at Yusei.

There had been something off about his smile though…Yusei wondered if everything was all right.

Johan smiled brightly at Yusei as he and Judai slipped into kitchen.

“Good morning! Did you two sleep well?”

“Yes, actually,” Yusei said. “You didn't have to make breakfast…”

“I thought I'd give everyone a chance to sleep in,” Johan said. “No one wants to get up when they're cuddling, anyway.”

Yusei blinked. Then a light blush grew over his cheeks and he glanced down. Geez…he hadn't realized Johan had known they were…

“Johan, oh my god,” Judai said, his face a beet red.

“What?” Johan said, smiling as though he hadn't said anything embarrassing at all. He plopped two big plates of some kind of crumbly-looking tart. “I made some coffee, too, if you want it.”

Yusei cocked his head at the food—he hadn't ever seen anything quite like it, but it looked good. Judai's face lit up, though, as he pulled up a chair.

“You made junket crumble?? Where'd you get the ingredients?”

“I stopped by a store early,” Johan said. “I thought it might bolster everyone's spirits to get something in our stomachs first thing in the morning.”

Yusei tried a bite—oh! There was some kind of fruit filling.

“This is delicious, thank you, Andersen-san,” Yusei said.

“Call me Johan,” Johan said with a wink. “And you're welcome!”

Yusei had only gotten a few bites down before Jack stumbled down the stairs, looking bleary eyed and mussy haired. Luka clung to his arm, looking as though she hadn't slept a wink. Yusei caught a glimpse of Johan's face darkening slightly—then he was all smiles again, swooping Luka to the table with an extra helping of breakfast and dropping a warm mug of cocoa into her hands. The others were slowly waking up from their sleeping bags, from the couch, wherever they had passed out, and drifted into the kitchen, drawn in by the smell of Johan's cooking.

It was the busiest Yusei had ever seen his kitchen, and there almost wasn't enough space for everyone. Manjoume and Asuka drifted out of the kitchen to the couch with their plates while a few others crowded around the table.

“So,” Aki said after a few moments of silence. “I really hate to lower the mood at all but…we do need to start thinking about our next step.”

For a moment, no one answered her.

“I'll…I'll call Ushio,” Yusei said after a beat. “I doubt there's much Security can do, but maybe they could find a lead on whoever took Lua…”

No one seemed overly enthused by the idea, and Yusei wasn't really all that hopeful about it either. But they had to do something—anything.

“Aki and I can go out and search the city for any glimpse of that guy's aura,” Judai said. “Do you remember what that…Luciano kid's aura felt like? You think you could pick it out?”

Aki nodded, eyes narrowing with determination.

“And if Carly is up to it, we can ask her to look over any Security camera feeds from the hospital,” Judai said. “She should be able to see any of those three, or their Meklords, from a mile away.”

That seemed a little more appealing to the rest of the group—something more on the level of their opponent's abilities.

“Manjoume, Shou, and I can scout out, too,” Asuka said. “I have some scanners I developed; not as strong as your abilities but it's worth a shot.”

The more people we have on the streets, the better,” Judai said, nodding. “I'm sure they haven't gone far—all of their attacks have been concentrated on this city. They're somewhere near.”

“I'll send the Crystal Beasts that I can spare to search as well,” said Johan, drying his hands off on a towel that he then threw over his shoulder.

“M-my spirit friends can look too,” Luka said.

There were nods all around the room, and Yusei looked down at his empty plate. A hollow feeling was gnawing at the bottom of his stomach. Why…? They had plans. They were going to get started fixing things, finding Lua and rescuing him. So why did he feel so…upset?

 _I'm useless_ , he realized with a start. _Everyone else has something to contribute. What can I do? Nothing at all…I can't…I can't help protect them._

He lifted his eyes to his friends, everyone talking, scheming, making plans, figuring out how to use their powers. Then he looked down at his hands. What had happened to the strange power he had found the night before? How could he get to it again? Would it even be helpful?

 _I can't help them_ , he thought. _I can't…I can't be the leader that they need._

The door slammed open.

A few swears lifted up from the others as chairs knocked over while people struggled to their feet. Yusei's pulse raced as he whipped around in his chair.

But it wasn't Fujiwara, or one of the Yliaster duelists, or an enemy at all—it was Sherry.

“Oh, good, you're all already awake,” she said tersely as she stalked down the stairs. “I found something, and someone is coming with me to check it out.”

No one even really had a chance to speak before Sherry made it to the table and tossed a business card onto the table in the middle of the dishes. Yusei was the first to lean towards it and twist it so that he could read the name.

“Ener-D Express Development Agency?” he said. “What's this about?”

“I think this company is a shell company for Yliaster,” Sherry said. “I was digging through some old files of Godwin's. That reporter girl from before helped me find some of them, and I found that he had made significant financial contributions to this company.”

“Oh!” Asuka said, hand raising over her mouth. “That did sound familiar. Manjoume, isn't that the one that your brother owns stocks in? The one we were monitoring because we thought they were working with Yliaster?”

“That's the one,” said Manjoume, leaning forward with his elbows on his knees, eyes narrowed.

“What brought this up now?” Yusei said.

His gaze flickered up to Sherry, and he was surprised to see how pale and drawn she looked.

“One of Mizoguchi's scanners that we use to look for unnatural energy spikes went way up last night,” she said. “But by the time we got to the Duel Lane where we had found it, it was gone. Only a police blockade, and a blown up lane that was still smoldering.”

A cold seemed to settle around the room. Yusei felt his stomach twist. She must mean…that must be where their fight was last night. He opened his mouth to tell her, but she was still talking.

“We picked it up again coming from that company's main research facility just outside the city,” she said. “I managed to copy the signal this time. I always put it through a series of translations to see if the energy could be radio waves, or some other form of information.”

She looked…sick. It was a strange expression for her.

“You're not going to like what it came out as,” she said, reaching into her breast pocket.

She pulled out what appeared to be a thin recorder, and pressed the button on the side.

For a moment, there was only static. And then, a voice curled through the room.

“ _Hello? H-hello? Who's there? …who are you?? What do you want with me? Where am I? …I want to go back to my sister…!”_

Yusei's breath caught in his throat and he almost choked.

Oh god.

Lua.

. . .

It was in his head again. He could feel it, whirring at the very back of his head like an extra gear in an otherwise perfectly oiled machine. It _buzzed_ , making his head spin and his mouth taste metallic, coppery.

Bruno closed his eyes tightly against the spark of light that flashed over his eyes, bringing with it a stabbing headache. The buzzing grew louder.

“Go away,” he murmured. “Go _away_.”

When he opened his eyes again, he wasn't sitting at his desk, in front of the computer with his coding and programming. He was there again—sitting in the vast expanse of white.

He knew it was standing behind him, and he didn't want to turn around. Something compelled him, however, and he turned around almost without trying.

There it was.

It looked a bit like a human girl: small, pudgy, and round-faced, much shorter than he was; but there was something distinctively inhuman enough about it that he didn't feel comfortable calling it a girl, or a boy, or even something in between that could possibly be human. Long white hair flapped slowly around a thin, translucent frame, as though it were standing underwater to make its hair float. Eyes without pupils stared at him, pools of white in a face that seemed made of quicksilver, almost see-through, like a ghost. It was a wonder that Bruno could see it at all in this whiteness—but all rights, it should have blended perfectly into the scenery. But the laws of physics and sight didn't seem to apply, and despite it having no contrasting features against the background, it commanded all his attention as though it were pasted against a black backdrop instead.

It opened its mouth. No words came out, but Bruno found himself simply knowing what it was saying to him.

“Get out of my head,” he hissed, feeling the pain in his forehead rise to a new level. “Get out.”

It tilted its head at him, blinking once. Its lips moved again.

“No, I already told you! I don't want to help you!”

“… … … _. .. …. …, …. …?”_

“Stop it! He's not—he's not him.”

“… _.. …”_

“Don't play games with me! He's not the same. You're making me…you're making me fight against…”

He couldn't remember. The light in his head was too strong, it blotted out everything that he was supposed to remember. Everything that he was supposed to know. Frustrated tears found their way to the corners of his eyes. He felt as though he were betraying something—betraying some _one_. But he couldn't remember. This thing in his head wouldn't let him remember.

“I won't be your tool,” he muttered.

“… …… … _. …. …”_

“Use someone else! Use anyone else! I don't want this.”

“… _.. … …. …. . …… …….. … ….. …”_

“Don't call me that—my name isn't Bruno! It's—it's…”

It was on the tip of his tongue, but he couldn't…he couldn't…it was…An…Anti…

The light in his head grew brighter and whatever words had begun to form faded away. Bruno moaned, gripping his head in his hands and sinking to his knees.

It approached him then, placing its hands on his shoulders. He wanted to fling them away, but he could not—the cool hands pressed against his skin and he felt a static shock pass through him, followed by a calming coolness that bled through his shirt and dripped through his entire frame from the touch.

“… … _. …… …. … … … ……… …. …… …. ….. …… …. …”_

“I'm not supposed to be helping you,” Bruno mumbled. “I'm supposed to be helping him.”

It leaned down, and pressed its cold lips to Bruno's forehead.

And then he was awake, jerking up from where his face had pressed into the keyboard.

“Bruno, are you going to sleep all day?” Sherry's voice cut across the room. “You've just been volunteered; you're coming with us to check this place out!”

Bruno blinked a few times, staring at the code on his computer. His hands were shaking, and his forehead felt…cold.

 _I'm…I'm supposed to go with them,_ Bruno thought. _I have to protect Yusei. That's my purpose._

But for the life of him…he couldn't remember where that purpose had come from… 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I didn't post this on the right day but at least I posted it~! Things are gonna get a little crazy next chapter so I hope the snuggles were appreciated haha~~~~


	23. Perseus

Lua was starting to realize that _here_ wasn’t actually real.

He twisted his wrists slight again, but he couldn’t move. There was nothing except blinding light and white surrounding him on all sides. There was no way something like this could be real…he must be in some kind of other dimension.

“ _That’s right…you’re really smart, Lua…”_

Lua sucked in a breath of surprise—his captor was back again.

“Let me go,” he said again. “Please…please, I want to go home.”

His captor shook their head. Even now, Lua couldn’t tell who they were. He knew…he knew that he _knew_ them, but something about this world he was imprisoned in made it impossible for his brain to connect the dots. He tried staring at the person’s face and memorizing the features, but even as he stared, he forgot.

And the longer he stared, the more they just ended up…looking like Luka…

“Stop that,” he said, his voice raising up to another octave. “Don’t wear her face like that.”

They shook their head, looking eerily the same as Luka.

“ _I only look like what you want to see. That’s how this place works. You want to see Luka, so that’s what you see.”_

“Stop it anyway,” Lua said, feeling tears bubble up to his eyes. He had no idea how long he had been in here. He couldn’t move, he couldn’t see anything but white and this fake image of his sister.

The fake Luka reached up to pat him softly on the head, and he tried to flinch away. He was held so fast, though, that he could barely even move his head.

“ _I’m sorry,”_ they said, with Luka’s voice now. _“I really am…I hate seeing you like this…but if I let your soul go back into your body, you’ll try to get away…you won’t be safe…I have to protect all of you…”_

“I don’t want to be protected,” Lua said, wriggling against his bonds. “N-not like this…please…I want to go home…”

“ _I know…”_

The fake Luka actually sounded very, very sad. Genuinely so.

“ _I couldn’t protect all of you…but this time I will. And that’s why I need your help.”_

“I told you, I don’t want to help you—I don’t want to help you do whatever it is you’re doing!”

“ _We’re going to stop the end of the world together,”_ they said. _“Don’t you want that…? Don’t you want to save the world?”_

“Not with you.”

The fake Luka shook their head.

“ _All I need is you, Lua,”_ they said, and Lua felt his heart jump into his throat hearing those words come from Luka. _“I need you to help me…please…”_

They sounded so sad…so desperate…if it weren’t for the circumstances, Lua might have listened. He felt…almost guilty for the way he was behaving. But no, that was just because they were teasing him by speaking with Luka’s voice.

“What…what exactly do you need me to do?”

The fake Luka’s lips parted, and a faint smile came to their lips, as though pleased that Lua was warming up to the idea. Lua wasn’t, but…but anything to keep the person talking. He didn’t want to be alone in here anymore…and maybe he could find something out that Yusei and Judai could use.

The fake Luka waved their hand, and some of the white swirled away like clouds, making an opening in the space in front of Lua. Lua gaped as he stared through to a world below.

It was the strangest thing he had ever seen. There was a big, flat, circular table, so big that Lua thought he could have fit most of the city onto it. A diagram had been etched into the top, gold and sparking, like the lines of a circuit board in the shape of a road map. And…and it _was_ a road map, he realized. He recognized that shape—that was the shape of the city’s new duel lane system. He had stared at the map for hours, planning routes for when he finally got his own D-Wheel and license.

“What is that?” he asked.

“ _That’s the Circuit,”_ the fake Luka said. _“I built it…it’s a device that can connect two times together.”_

“Like…like a time machine?”

“ _Close…a time machine can bring back a few people at a time…but the Circuit…the Circuit can bring two entire eras together. It can fold time on top of itself.”_

Lua’s throat felt dry. The image faded, and he saw, briefly, another room—this one was small, with lots of screens and machines with glowing buttons, and a mass of wires all connected to…to him. He saw himself.

The image vanished quickly, but Lua had seen what he needed to. This place he was in, it was fake. His real body was out in the real world and his soul was being kept in some kind of suspended animation. He needed to find a way free, somehow.

“Why—why would you want to fold time?”

The fake Luka looked up at Lua, and there was sadness in their eyes.

“ _To stop something horrible from happening,”_ they said. _“To protect everyone.”_

Lua swallowed.

“And…and what do you want from me to do that?”

The fake Luka smiled, and touched their hand gently to Lua’s chest for a breath.

“ _I need the power of your heart,”_ they said. _“I’m collecting the energy of duelists to give it power…but I need a strong fuse to set the gathered energy alight, and bring it to life. I need someone like you.”_

“But I don’t have any powers. L-Luka’s the one that has powers. I’m just…I’m just me.”

The fake Luka smiled brighter, and shook their head.

“ _Don’t you remember the power that coursed through you the night before? When you wanted to protect everyone? The fire in you that was so hard to control?”_

Lua hadn’t forgotten, but he had started to think that it had been a dream. He felt it again, now, the little tongue of red fire just under his heart, the faint burning sensation on his right arm. It hadn’t been fake. He had used it to get his—to get his father to go away.

“ _And your voice could call across dimensions, Lua,”_ the fake Luka continued. _“Remember how you called out to Luka when she was in the spirit world? She could hear you even then. Your heart has power, Lua. Power to draw worlds and times together. You can set the Circuit afire, I know you can.”_

Lua’s voice could reach across dimensions…to Luka. Could he make his voice reach her now, from wherever he was?

Or…

…could he maybe do one better?

He swallowed. The image of his body lying with all of those wires plugged into it flashed across his mind. Would he even be able to get back if he did something crazy like this? Could he even do it in the first place? Luka had been able to do it, and she had been able to come back to her body after three months in a coma.

Lua hoped it wouldn’t take quite that long for him to get back.

He saw the face of the fake Luka flicker, the smile fade. That’s right, his captor had been able to hear his thoughts about this place not being real when this conversation had first started, hadn’t they? Were they listening to his thoughts and his crazy plan right now?

“ _Lua,”_ they said, their voice sounding suddenly nervous. _“Lua, don’t do anything rash. I might not be able to bring you back. You could be lost forever.”_

Luka had the power to jump dimensions. Lua had the power to call out across them.

But now Lua had even more power than he knew what to do with, and the red glow was growing, sending a tinge of crimson afterglow across the fake Luka’s features. Their eyes widened, almost terrified, and Lua felt something in him crack a little seeing that expression on his sister’s face.

“ _Lua,”_ they said desperately. _“Lua, please, you have to stay here, if you move your soul like this, you might not be able to find your way back to your body. You’re safe here, this is a controlled environment, I can bring you back into your own body right now if you want me to, Lua,_ please _.”_

“I don’t want to be anywhere near you,” Lua mumbled, his head buzzing with the pressure of his increasing fire. “I don’t want to help you fold time or whatever. I want to go home.”

He pictured it in his mind—the wide, beautiful, sparkling forest that he had seen through Luka’s eyes once when they had connected during her duel. The home of Ancient Fairy Dragon and Luka’s spirit friends.

The white was swirling around them like clouds and there were punches of light streaming through. The fake Luka cried out, reaching for Lua.

“ _Lua, please!”_ they cried out. _“It’s not safe!”_

Lua wasn’t listening—he had found it, the hole that lead through to the world he remembered from Luka’s eyes.

He was going for it.

The fire exploded through him, ripping away whatever bindings held him in place in this pocket of light. He heard the fake Luka scream, only it wasn’t Luka’s voice anymore—it was someone else’s, a deeper, masculine voice that Lua somehow also still knew?

But then the fire was encasing him and he felt like he was flying, rocketing for the hole in the light towards Ancient Fairy Dragon’s home. He could hide there, he could call out to Lua from there, and Ancient Fairy Dragon could take care of him—

His captor grabbed his ankle and he jolted backward. He cried out, kicking wildly, and then his captor screamed as the fire burnt across them.

But Lua had already lost his course and his fire was burning up everything, all of the clouds melting away into a dark, misting rain that coated his eyes and he was falling, screaming as he fell down, down, down, down—and landed, hard, against something coarse and sandy, the dirt getting into his mouth and eyes. He blinked enough to see something like a cold ocean crashing against far away black rocks, to feel the mist of the spray and fog over his skin, to hear the eerie cry of something that wasn’t quite a seagull echo overhead.

And then his fire died out, and he gasped as the blackness took hold in its place before he passed out.

. . .

They needed to be a small group, and they needed to be quick. That meant they needed everyone who had the skills that would get them inside.

Johan volunteered to drive them out there; going on their bikes would be too conspicuous, and it was too far to walk. Johan was one of the only people there who had an actual license to drive a van instead of a bike, anyway.

Manjoume used a few connections to find out what company would be in charge of any mandatory inspections at Ener-D Express, and then made a few calls so that they wouldn’t look out of place when they showed up. Johan’s old beat-up van was easily disguised as belonging to the repair company with some of Judai’s shadow magic, and the rest of the group got the shadow disguise treatment as well.

Yusei glanced across at Judai. Somehow they had ended up on opposite sides of the back seat, with Bruno squished in between them. Sherry was up in the passenger seat beside Johan, not that Yusei would have immediately recognized any of them with Judai’s magic shielding them.

Judai now looked like a short, purple haired young person of uncertain gender, with piercing green eyes. He said that his disguise wasn’t really shadow magic as much as it was letting a little more of Yubel out of him—it was easier to maintain since he had to keep up four other disguises at the same time. Bruno looked like a gaunt man with long black hair in a ponytail, and Sherry like a broader woman with ginger hair and a scar on her right cheek. Yusei wasn’t entirely sure what his disguise looked like, because he couldn’t see it on himself, not even in the reflection of the car window. Judai said he looked older now, like a man in his fifties rather than his late teens. He had covered up his marker with some makeup just in case, and shoved his hair under the hat of the company they were posing as, so that hopefully he wouldn’t be recognized automatically even if Judai’s disguise had to drop. It looked…weird seeing himself without the marker. He had had it for far less time than he hadn’t, but it still felt like so much a part of him now. A remembrance of another time…

He glanced back at Judai past Bruno. They hadn’t gotten much time to talk in between the commotion. He wished he was sitting next to him, even if he didn’t quite look like Judai right now…he still felt like Judai, and there was still Judai behind that piercing gaze.

Yusei wanted to ask him, _why did you pick me to come along? I don’t have anything to add that’s not already here._

Bruno had just as much software and hardware knowledge as Yusei did. He could easily get them in and out of the building. Sherry was as skilled as Yusei when it came to fighting, probably more so since she had had some formal training, and she had insider knowledge on Yliaster and this company already that would help them get through smoothly. Judai was the magic source, and Johan the getaway so…what was Yusei doing here?

Judai had looked right at him and asked him _“you wanna come?”_ and Yusei hadn’t been able to say no, not with everyone looking. Not with Judai looking at him like that. He…he wanted to be here, but he didn’t know why…he couldn’t add anything to this group…was he just dead weight…?

A voice startled him out of his thoughts and he realized that Johan and Sherry had begun speaking.

“Sorry, I didn't mean to overstep at all. We have a long drive, thought I'd fill it with some conversation.”

Sherry huffed loudly, and Yusei wondered what Johan had asked that made her look like she had just smelled something nasty. Yusei glanced across at Judai again and this time Judai caught his eye. He mouthed something that Yusei only caught a bit of, but he got the gist that Johan had asked while Sherry was after Yliaster. Oh...that was a bit of a touchy subject, wasn't it? Yusei had thought that Johan had a little more tact than that...

But then, to his surprise, Sherry answered after a beat.

“They killed my parents,” she said. “Would have killed me, too, if they could.”

For a moment, it was quiet. And then Johan sighed softly.

“I'm sorry to hear that,” he said. “That's...a heavy burden for anyone to bear.”

Sherry shrugged.

“It was years ago,” she said. “And I'm not going to give up until the bastards pay for it.”

Judai leaned forward then, putting his hand against the back of the seat.

“I don't want to make you keep reliving it, Sherry-san,” he said, “but...do you know _why_ your parents were killed? I want to try and figure out more about what Yliaster's plans are...but you don't have to answer.”

Sherry huffed and rolled her eyes.

“I want to take them down just as badly,” she said. “I'm not a child who can't handle talking about it.”

She reached into the front pocket of her jacket and pulled out a card, turning its face towards the three in the back.

“Z-ONE?” Yusei read. “A Duel Monsters card?”

“This is what they were after,” Sherry said. “My father designed it. It's an innocent enough spell card. It doesn't do a whole lot game-wise, and I've tested it on multiple Duel Disks. It's completely and utterly unextraordinary.”

She flipped the card back towards her and tucked it into her pocket.

“But I remember my father spent years developing circuit technology,” she said. “And there's a very particular pattern hidden in the foil on the back of the card. Not enough to ruin it being read by the card system, but enough for it to be able to be read by another system.”

“So it's...a card key for something else,” Judai said. “Disguised as a Duel Monsters card.”

“That's what I believe. That's why I broke into Security, so that I could have the computer there analyze it...”

Sherry frowned.

“It didn't work.”

A card with a circuit embedded in it? It would have to be razor thin circuitry, incredibly advanced stuff, to hide it in the foil and then still have it be readable and usable? Yusei felt almost a little excited by the idea in spite of everything—how would something like that even work? If he didn't already know how attached Sherry was to that card, he would have asked if he could study it. Technology like that was something that he would have almost killed for to have a look at back in the slums of Satellite.

“So your father was a circuit engineer?” Johan asked.

Sherry hesitated. She looked...uncertain for a moment. And then she nodded slowly.

“His name was Ulysse. Ulysse LeBlanc,” she said. “Circuitworks.”

“Oh,” Johan said, his breath catching a little. “I know that company.”

“Everyone does.”

Sherry fell silent again. For a moment, there wasn't a single sound in the car but for the hum of the wheels against the pavement.

“My mother's name was Émeline,” she said quietly. “She was good at knitting. Spent most of her time doing it. I had one too many hats and scarves than I knew what to do with. She never quite got the hang of sweaters though. They always came out misshapen.”

The words just sort of tumbled out of her, all at once. It was like a handful of rocks had been pushed out of the way of a river, allowing some of the water to trickle through. _Oh_ , Yusei realized. _She must not have thought about the happy memories in a very long time...revenge eats away at those_.

“My father was rather useless with anything that didn't involve gadgets. But he liked to try cooking, even though we had staff that did that. Drove the cook mad, because something would get burnt and smell up the kitchen.”

She swallowed harshly then, and pressed a hand to her mouth.

Johan's hand appeared between the seats, then, and Yusei could see him putting a hand gently on her knee.

“They sound like they were good people,” he said kindly. “I'm sure they would be proud of you.”

Sherry sniffled softly, and when she looked up at the road again, Yusei could see in the rearview mirror that her eyes had gone hard again.

“They wouldn't be,” she said, matter-of-fact. “Mother cried about revenge stories. Thought they were too harsh.”

And then she fell silent, and they were left in the uncertain quiet once more.

Yusei wanted to reach over Bruno and grab Judai's hand. But he didn't.

. . .

Aki had no idea Jack could be a mother hen, but she supposed there was a first time for everything.

“Just—walk more slowly, okay?? Lean on me if you need to.”

“I-I'm really okay, Jack,” Carly mumbled. “I can handle a few stairs...”

She didn't look completely fine, still a little shaky, but she definitely looked better than the last time Aki had seen her. Her hair was a little mussed and her glasses askew, but she was clinging to Jack's arms as he led her down the stairs and into house. Aki wondered if Yusei's landlady was going to get upset with them for cramming so many people into this house, but it was the most central location and the easiest to leave at a moment's notice, or she would have offered her own home.

“I really don't know if you should have left the hospital yet,” Jack said worriedly. He looked almost comical with how nervous he was, constantly chewing on his lip and looking white-faced. It was a strange expression for him. “Are you feeling dizzy? Should I get you some water?”

“I'm okay, thanks,” Carly said, trying to smile. “I should really just...sit. Besides, I...I really wanted to talk to all of you...about what I saw...”

Aki helped catch Carly as they reached the bottom of the stairs, helping Jack guide her to the couch. Shou was already walking back from the kitchen with a glass of water for her as Jack sat beside her. Carly smiled gratefully at Shou as she accepted the water, drinking half of it before pausing to breathe.

It was quiet and tense in the house since Yusei and the others had left on their mission. There was nothing they could do but wait and hope.

Luka was upstairs, sulking, with Crow looking after her. She had tried to shout Yusei down about being allowed to go with to look for Lua, but Yusei and the others had ultimately refused. They wanted to be able to move quickly, and Luka was just too young. Luka had screamed a lot about how she was a Signer too, and it had taken everything they all had not to give in. Crow had taken her aside, though, and tried to talk her through it while the others left.

Asuka and Manjoume looked like bookends, both of them with their arms folded as they stood leaned against the wall a few feet away from each other. Asuka caught Aki's gaze and smiled softly, and Aki had to smile back. She never thought she'd be saving the world with her high school teacher of all things.

Carly tried to start speaking, but Jack put a hand on her shoulder, whispering something to her that sounded like 'take your time,' so she hesitated, breathing for a few more moments. She downed the rest of the water and then nestled the cup between her knees, taking a few more deep breaths.

“When I crashed,” she started. “It was because...because I heard something. A melody.”

“A melody?” Asuka echoed, blinking. “What do you mean?”

Carly shrugged helplessly.

“I wish I could explain it...but...but what the melody did was it... _showed_ me things,” she said. “I could see something...something that scared me so badly that I decided to put myself into a coma rather than look at it again.”

She sucked in a deep breath, clearly shaken. In a sudden, and somehow surprising gesture, Jack pulled off his own ridiculously long jacket and draped it over Carly's shoulders, pulling it gently around her.

“It's okay,” he said. “Take it slow.”

Carly swallowed, and nodding, giving Jack a faint, grateful smile. She tugged the jacket around her shoulders a little bit more, trying to collect herself.

Out of the corner of her eye, Aki saw Luka creep to the top of the stairs from the loft, peeking her head around the railing. Crow appeared too, standing behind her with his arms folded, clearly listening as well.

“It was an image,” she said. “A series of them, like a flickering tape. Black and white, black and white, over and over again.”

She swallowed.

“I think...I think I saw Zero Reverse,” she said. “I saw Momentum...that must have been what it was. I saw it spinning backwards.”

A chill came around the room. It...it was too soon. The days of the Dark Signers was still too fresh. A Momentum spinning backwards?

“And there was a second Momentum, too,” Carly said. “Only...only that one was coming from the sky. And it was spinning the opposite way from the one on the ground.”

Her glasses slipped as she ducked her head, and Aki could see how wide and frightened her dark eyes were. She swallowed and it sounded like she was choking for a moment.

“They were coming towards each other,” she said softly. “The one in the sky was being pulled down from the heavens by...but some kind of circuit board. And there were two people screaming. They were calling the other Momentum down, but they didn't want to—but they didn't know how to stop, and it was putting them in serious pain...”

The room was so silent that they could have heard a pin drop in between Carly's words. It was like the entire space was dropping in temperature one degree at a time, and Aki had to hug herself to ward off the chill.

“One Momentum was light, and the other one was darkness,” Carly continued. “And the screams...they were coming from two people—one light, and one darkness. They were trying to stop it, but they couldn't, they didn't know how. It was hurting them. The circuit was pulling them apart, the red flame in the middle was killing them, pulling everything they were out of them. And then, when the Momentums crashed...”

She shuddered, curling in on herself. Jack slid his hands over both of her shoulders to steady her.

“Everything just...ended,” she said. “It was over. There wasn't...anything anymore.”

Carly swallowed again, looking back up. She fumbled with her glasses to press them back on her knees, and the glass between her knees started to slip. Jack caught it and put it down on the floor softly, but the sound still seemed to resonate across the entire room.

Manjoume finally spoke.

“ReBalancing,” he said. “That must—that must be the ReBalancing. The shit we heard about from Yliaster.”

He looked around at the room, at everyone staring at him.

“What? It makes sense,” he said. “Light and darkness. That's what they're trying to do, right? They're trying to 'right the balance.'”

“By crashing two Momentums together?” Shou said. “How would they even do that?”

Crow coughed softly, and everyone looked up at the loft where he was.

“Tell me—more about this 'circuit,'” he said slowly. “And the two people that are being killed by it.”

Carly shuddered.

“I—I don't know,” she said. “I...I don't want to know. I don't want to—believe that—”

“Carly,” Jack said soothingly, rubbing her back. “It's okay. It hasn't happened yet. We can stop it from happening.”

Crow just jerked up from where he was standing, though, his eyes suddenly wide and his jaw clenched.

“One person is light and the other one is darkness, you said,” he said. “That's what you said, right?”

Jack looked like he was going to start shouting at Crow as Carly curled up further, but then, it all hit Aki at once, and she gasped, almost choking on her own air as she pressed her hands to her mouth.

“Oh my god,” she said. Her mind flashed back—to the fight where they had lost Lua. Judai, matching Fujiwara shadow for shadow. Yusei, with the strange white glow and the invisible shield that rippled white every time something struck against it when he ran to save Judai. Their strange behavior when they summoned Hourglass Dragon. “It's—it's them. It's them, isn't it?”

Crow actually vaulted the railing over Luka's head, making her squeak as he swung around to the ladder and slid down it without touching the slats. He hit the ground and made for his bike. Asuka called after him, but Aki was whipping towards hers too.

“Wait,” Carly said suddenly, her voice trembling with panic. “Where...where are Yusei and Judai?”

“We sent them out there,” Crow swore, jamming his helmet onto his head. “Yliaster's tools for the ReBalancing—we sent them what they needed and they're alone out there!”

“I'm calling Johan,” Asuka said, grabbing for her Duel Disk.

Aki grabbed her own helmet and leaped onto her bike without bothering to go for a riding suit.

When she looked back, Carly was standing, her glasses slipped down her nose and her eyes wide and panicked.

“Get them back,” she whispered. “Oh my god...please...don't let them get used for this, please, the world will _end_ , please bring them back—”

Aki just flashed a smile.

“Don't worry,” she said. “That company might as well not exist before my thorns.”

She punched her foot into the gas and tore off after Crow.

_Yusei...Judai...I'm coming._

 


	24. Reticulum

“Oh, you must be the repair guys they said were coming in. Yeah, go on through, here are your entry badges—Kobayashi at the desk will show you where you need to go.”

Judai fumbled with the badge for a moment, clipping it to the front of his shirt.

“Thanks!” Johan said cheerily to the man in the visitor box, and he pulled the van through the gates of Ener-D Express.

“All right,” Judai muttered. “We're in.”

Johan drove down the long winding road up to the parking lot, and slid the van into a spot close to the exit, pulling all the way through so that he wouldn't have to back out.

“I'll wait here,” he said, leaning around the back seat. “So we can get out of here as quickly as possible—I'm pretty sure running through the doors with Lua in tow won't leave us much start up time.”

“I think you'd be right,” Yusei said. “Thank you, Johan.”

Johan nodded.

“Be careful in there, guys,” he said. “Stay alert. It won't take long before _someone_ realized that they didn't order for any repairs today.”

“We're not stupid,” Sherry said caustically as she unstrapped herself and hopped out, slamming the door behind her.

Judai grimaced at her tough attitude, but maybe that was what they needed right now. He slid out of the car himself, with Bruno tripping behind him. Judai took a moment to readjust to standing after being in the car for a few hours, as well as adjusting to his current body shape. He had only done this a few times, take on Yubel's old human form. It was possible because he and Yubel were fused together, but it was somewhat uncomfortable for both of them. It made his and Yubel's minds synch up more, too, so they couldn't think as independently of each other, and he could feel the way that his own personality changed in minute ways to match more of Yubel's traits. He hoped he wouldn't be too reckless; Yubel wasn't one for thinking things through.

Yusei touched his shoulder gently, bringing Judai out of his thoughts.

“You all right?” he said.

Judai looked up and nodded. It was a little weird seeing Yusei in his illusion disguise—he looked a tad shorter than he actually was, with blond hair that was a little longer in the back than in the front, and his face was thinner. He didn't have the distinctive marker, either, of course.

His eyes, though, were the same. Always the same.

Yusei's hand slid down Judai's arm to reach his hand, and squeezed.

“We're going to be all right,” he murmured.

Judai couldn't express just how calm Yusei's voice and eyes made him. He squeezed Yusei's hand back. He looked different than he normally did, but he was still unmistakably Yusei, and Yusei made Judai feel _safe_. He was glad Yusei had agreed to come along. The way that Yusei had looked when Judai had asked had made him think he didn't want to, that he was nervous about something, and Judai wished he had had the chance to ask him what. But Yusei had come along after all, and that was good, as far as Judai was concerned.

They could talk about what was bothering Yusei later, when Lua was safely home.

Ener-D Express looked like an ordinary research facility from the outside. Large, square, and mostly boring looking. It was a white-ish color that stood out against the more barren landscape, with the only color coming from the red lettering at the time that spelled the name of the company in English. According to Manjoume, it was an American subsidiary, their first outpost in Japan. They were a fairly new company that had gotten its start by making use of some of the Momentum technology they had managed to get the rights to use, and were pushing the boundaries of what Momentum could do with their state of the art research methods.

And, for some reason, they were holding Lua captive.

Judai fixed his hat, pulling the brim even over his eyes as they approached the doors. Inside, it looked just as ordinary as the rest of it. Just an open reception area, with a few seats and a reception desk at the back. There was a glass wall to the left, through which Judai could see a small cafeteria, presumably for the workers who wouldn't have time to drive the two hours into the city to get lunch in the middle of work. It was mostly empty at this time of day, with just a few people nibbling quickly on sandwiches while flipping through documents, and the food service people starting to bustle behind the counters to get the food ready for the lunch rush.

At the desk, a petite woman of about thirty or thirty-five looked up. She smiled, pushing back her perfectly straight bangs from her face for a moment, although they simply slid right back to where they were before.

“You must be from Bolger & Company,” she said. “I just heard to be expecting you—you're here to have a look at our circuit boards, right?”

“Yes, ma'am,” Bruno said, nodding. By majority vote, they had decided Bruno would be the lead of their fake expedition, since he was the one who would be most skilled at actually fixing things—or more likely, breaking things subtly so that he could be busy working and give them more time. Yusei would have to be free to help them get through any security systems while Bruno kept up the ruse.

“Perfect!” the woman said, standing up. “Here's a map of the facility, our circuit system that needs the work is right over here. If you need any help, just give me a ring; there's a phone line right over there that automatically connects to my desk.”

“Thank you very much,” Bruno said, walking up to accept the map and have a look at where the circuit room was. “This hopefully shouldn't take us too long.”

“We're just glad to have the bugs worked out before something explodes,” she said with a laugh. “Oh, and your entry badges will give you access to the cafeteria, if you all get hungry in the middle. Good luck!”

Bruno nodded, and then he lead the way around the reception counter and to the door in the back.

The hall was long and thin and lead in both directions, with doors on several sides. Bruno waited for the door to fall shut behind them before he said anything.

“Sense anything?” he asked.

Judai closed his eyes. He had been trying to search out Lua's aura all the way here, but he couldn't get a whiff of it. It had occurred to all of them that this could just as easily be a trap, but they didn't have a choice but to try. If there was enough Momentum interference, it could be blocking Judai from sensing Lua until they were inside.

He grimaced.

“Nothing,” he said. “At least...not Lua, specifically.”

He added this last bit with some hesitation, as he suddenly caught a hint of something else. Something...sharp, and metallic, something that left a strange coppery taste on the back of his tongue. It wasn't...normal, he thought. And yet it was somehow...familiar.

“What is it?” Yusei asked, catching the look on Judai's face.

“I'm not sure,” Judai said, peering down towards the right hall. “But it's coming from over there.”

“The circuit room is the other way,” Sherry said, pointing to the left. “We'll go there first, and Bruno and Yusei can get into the security system to give us some time.”

Judai nodded, and they made their way to the end of the hall. Bruno scanned his entry card on the side, and the door opened. Immediately, they were assaulted with a faint whiff of smoke and the buzz and flash of a million lights.

“Wow,” Bruno said, his eyes lighting up like a child in a candy store. “Now this is a system!”

Yusei looked impressed too, walking in to kneel down in front of one node, running his fingers over some of the technology.

“Can you get into the security system from here?” Sherry asked impatiently.

“I think so,” said Yusei. “Bruno, you get me a backdoor while I work on this.”

Bruno saluted, and pulling out a small USB port from his pocket. He plugged it into one of the few computer screens in between the panels, and started to type. Yusei took up a spot on the other computer. Judai hung back against the wall with Sherry. Even in her disguised form, she looked like herself, Judai thought—straight backed, arms folded, a permanent scowl on her face. She drummed her fingers on her arm.

“Should we be keeping a watch?” she asked. “Or something?”

“I think that would be pretty suspicious of us,” Judai said. “After all, we're supposed to be in here. We should probably find something we can use to pretend to be busy if someone walks in, though.”

Judai cast his senses behind him through the door, just to let them know if anyone approached. But while he could sense the life forces of a few people nearby, none of them came near the circuit room.

“We're in,” Yusei said all at once.

“That was _fast_ ,” Judai said with surprise, walking over to Yusei.

“Yeah, well, I don't know how long it will work for,” Yusei said, frowning at the screen. “We have...thirty minutes of camera feedback loop. Tops.”

“Great, then we need to move fast,” said Sherry. “Where are you sensing that energy, Judai?”

She rolled the map out onto the floor, and Judai hurried over, kneeling down beside it.

“There,” he said, pointing to the end of the left hallway.

“There's nothing there,” said Bruno.

“Nothing on the map,” said Judai. “I'm going there. Sherry, you see if you can check the rooms on this side of the building, in case we're being duped. Yusei, can you take the rooms on the left side while I make my way down there?”

“Got it,” said Yusei.

“On it,” said Sherry, already moving towards the door.

“I'll hold the fort here and cover you,” said Bruno. “Everyone has their ear pieces, right? I'll contact you if it looks like you're going to run in to anyone.”

“Thanks,” Yusei said, smiling at Bruno. “All right, team...let's go.”

Sherry was already through the door, but Judai hesitated just a moment longer. He glanced at Yusei, who met his eyes, looking questioning.

“Be careful,” was all Judai could say. “I'll see you at the end of all of this, right?”

Yusei smiled.

“Of course.”

* * *

The hall was silent considering this was a work day. Judai had already left Yusei behind and he was creeping closer to the aura he was sensing. It grew stronger as he got closer, keeping an eye out for anyone that might be coming out of another door—he didn't like how quiet it was. Was he right, was this a trap? Was Yliaster waiting for them? Maybe Lua wasn't here at all.

A door snapped open and Judai choked, spinning around.

A tall blond man appeared, blinking at Judai. He was taller than Judai, even if Judai had been in his normal, taller form, dressed in a simple dress shirt and blazer with a coffee cup clutched in one hand. His eyes flickered to the logo on Judai's hat, and then to his jacket. Recognition sparked in his eyes.

“Ah, you're from Bolger & Company,” the man said. “One of the repair group, right?”

“Yes, sir,” Judai said quickly, trying to keep his voice steady.

“What are you doing on this side of the building? Did you get lost?”

Judai latched onto the first excuse he could come up with.

“I was looking for the bathroom,” he said, faking an embarrassed laugh and rubbing the back of his neck. “Got a little turned around, I think.”

“Ah,” the man said, smiling. “That makes sense; our bathrooms are a bit of a hassle to find. Did you ask Kobayashi at the desk?”

“I did, but I must have forgotten what she told me—directions and I don't really get along,” Judai said with a joking tone.

To his relief, the man seemed to buy it, laughing along with Judai.

“I can take you there, don't worry, everyone has a problem with it at the beginning—don't know why we don't have some in the front. I keep putting it to the board that we need better bathrooms, and they keep denying the funds for it. Honestly.”

The man rolled his eyes with a smile, then nodded towards the door he had just come out of.

“Come on, they're this way,” he said.

“Thank you, sir,” Judai said, trying to sound very grateful—he didn't want to go this way, though...the aura was...

He sucked in a breath as he approached the door and a wave of the metallic, shining aura washed over him. This way. The aura was _this_ way. This could be a stroke of luck after all.

The man let Judai in first and then let the door swing closed behind them.

This was a somewhat smaller room, some kind of office, Judai thought. There was another door on the other side, and the room itself contained only a desk, a few computer monitors, and walls _covered_ in diagrams, fliers, and photographs. Judai quickly read the name on the desk plaque—Clark Smith. That must be this man...hold on...wasn't that the name of the building manager?

Judai swallowed as he realized just how deep in he actually was. This was the guy in charge, and he was right under his eyes. Hopefully, Judai's ruse would last.

His eyes flickered around the room as they usually did, taking in everything anything he could note, just to give him information, stabilization. This man was definitely their enemy if he was an Yliaster plant, as they all assumed he was. The photographs were the most interesting, he thought, showing some people he recognized—that was one of Manjoume's brothers standing next to Smith. Manjoume had already said his brothers had connections to Yliaster, although they didn't know what they were involved in. There were a few other figures he recognized too, figures that made his blood go a bit cold—these were high-ranking politicians and big, famous businessmen, one of them even looked like the vice president of the United States, if Judai even remembered who that was in this era.

Most distressingly, as if it couldn't get worse, Judai recognized one of the men in a photo with Smith as the same man who had attacked him and Yusei that day they had both found new Synchro summons, the man who had been able to fuse himself to his D-Wheel like some kind of weird robot...hadn't the man who had saved Judai from falling called him Placido?

If there was ever a sign that this man, and all the people in the photos, were associated with Yliaster, this was it.

“You know a lot of famous people,” Judai quipped, and Smith looked back over his shoulder briefly.

The man laughed.

“Well, you have to make connections to get anywhere in business,” he said. “Most of them are old friends of mine; we're all part of the same special club, if you will.”

He laughed as though at some private joke, and Judai's stomach twisted. Now there was a sign more than anything that Smith, and most of the people in the photos, were members of Yliaster. Maybe on Judai's pass through he'd have another look, see how deep this organization actually went. How screwed they were by taking it on.

But Smith opened up the door on the other side of the room, and let Judai through. It was another long hallway, only this one had more branching hallways. Judai sucked in a breath. There—the hall branching off in between this room and the bathrooms. That was the way that the aura was coming from.

“Bathroom is at the end of the hall,” he said. “You can see the sign from here. I'll leave my door open so you can just pass through this way to get back; it's faster that way. I'm just making another coffee run.”

“Thank you, sir,” Judai said.

Smith waved Judai on with a smile and retreated back into his office. Judai turned towards the bathroom and started to walk down towards it, checking his watch. They had another fifteen minutes of video feed if Bruno's calculations were right. More than enough time.

Judai checked to make sure Smith wasn't looking. Then he bolted down the other hallway, making a breath for the aura. It was—there! The door to his left! Judai pressed up against the wall beside it, checking the handle. Locked.

Well, he could deal with that.

He forced a bit of shadow through his palm and into the card reader that would unlock the door. After a few seconds, the shadows had finished ripping the wires inside to shreds, and the card reader overloaded. He heard the door click unlocked, grabbed the handle, and slowly pushed it open.

He eased it open just a crack, peering through. Through the crack, he couldn't see much at all—there was a big screen on the far wall, and the ceiling was higher than the hall he was in now. A mess of wires tangled up across the floor...

And he could hear someone crying.

Judai's throat closed up. He couldn't sense a human being inside, but he could hear crying. According to his senses, the room was _empty_. So who was crying...?

He licked his dry lips, pushing forward a little further, trying to stay quiet. He could still hear it, the sound of crying. It sounded...echoey, or metallic even. The harsh white aura was so bright that Judai had to switch to his entirely normal vision so that he could actually see.

“Lua, please,” he heard someone say, and he almost choked. “Please, come back, I can't protect you like this—Lua, please, I can't follow you where you're going, you have to come back!”

They sounded so...broken. Judai felt a strange twist in his stomach. On one hand...it sounded like he had found where Lua had been held. On the other hand...why did his captor sound so distressed?

There was nothing for it—Judai was just going to have to jump in.

He threw the door open, shadows jumping to his hands and coating him with black armored gauntlets, ready to fight. His wings ached to be released, but he held them down for now to save the energy.

As though in surprise, something large and metal twisted around, and Judai—

Judai felt sick as all at once the floor vanished, the room, vanished, _everything_ vanished so that he was hovering in a small pocket of white. His skin crawled—he knew this light, this was—

He cried out as it burned against his skin—he had to drop his disguise entirely and revert back to a human form, wreathing himself in the shadows to protect himself from the burning Light of Destruction. But—but how?? He knew that it was somehow powering the Meklords, but for it to be in use here?? At this level of power??

The metal thing that had turned to see him melted into the light before Judai could get a good look at it. He heard a faint gasp echo around him.

“Who are you?” Judai shouted. “Where's Lua?”

He felt a hand on his shoulder. With a hiss, he jerked back and twisted around, swiping at the hand, but there was nothing there. He twisted among the light, trying to see something, anything—who was he facing and why couldn't he fight back?? How did he get out of this pocket of light??

He heard a soft, choked sound.

“ _I'm sorry,”_ a voice echoed. _“I'm so, so, so sorry....I'm sorry this is only thing I could figure out to do...”_

Judai felt the hand on his shoulder again, barely brushing against him.

“ _I wish I could feel you,”_ the voice said in a soft, broken moan. _“I—I wish I could hold you again.”_

“Who the fuck are you?” Judai said, feeling a strange panic rise up in his throat. “Who _are_ you?”

The hand left his shoulder.

“ _I'm so sorry,”_ the voice said again. _“My name is Z-ONE.”_

The light faded all at once.

“ _I hope you can forgive me...but this is...the only way.”_

Judai fell to his knees on the ground, gasping for breath—he was back. He was out of the light.

The great metal _thing_ that had been there before was gone. Judai couldn't stop the tremble in his arms all at once, the cold that was spreading through his chest and making him choke. He hugged himself—why was he trembling so bad? Why did he feel so sick? What had he... _who_ had he just met...?

“Z-ONE?” he said, testing out the word. It didn't...sound familiar...and yet...why was his heart aching...?

“ _Judai! Judai, are you there? I think we've been busted, we need to go now! Have you found Lua?”_

Judai snapped out of it at the sound of Bruno's voice in his ear. He fumbled with the ear piece, fixing it as he scrambled to his feet. He couldn't talk back to Bruno, but he could get out quick. He was about to run when he suddenly realized he hadn't had a good look at this room yet. There was the screen, and the wires, and the place where the big metal thing had been—and there was a table right where the metal thing had been hiding it before, and on that table was—

“Lua!”

The boy lay prone across the table, with wires hooked up to him on electrodes and an IV drip in his arm. Oh, geez, this was going to be tough to get him out of and get going...

Judai rubbed his palms together briefly, looking at all of the wires. Lua was breathing normally, at least, without any kind of mask...his—his soul was gone, though. This machine must be made to extract a soul and keep it confined while the body was held...and the man had been crying, asking Lua to come back...so had Lua's soul escaped?

He could almost smell the little rips in the dimensional barriers now that he was looking for them, and thought that must be the likeliest conclusion. Lua's body was here, but his soul had been confined, and it seemed as though he had learned to dimension jump like his sister to escape. That made things easier for Judai, at least—he and Luka could jump worlds and go looking for him, and as far as he knew, Yliaster could not.

He just had to get Lua's body to safety first. Judai carefully started to remove all of the wires attached to the electrodes, insulating Lua's body from any shocks with a thin layer of shadow. He finished unhooking him and hoped that he wasn't doing this badly—he didn't want to cause any problems later but he didn't have time to study this machine and figure out how to undo it correctly.

Judai winced as he carefully peeled the tape away from the IV. He really didn't have the materials to do this safely...

“ _Judai, I don't know if you can hear me, but our exit was cut off, we had to go down the end of the opposite hallway from the circuit room and block ourselves into the warehouse. Come quickly, we're not sure how to get out of here!”_

Judai swore. He dug in his pocket for the only thing he had that would work as gauze, a handkerchief, and pulled back the last of the tape. He pressed the folded up handkerchief to just above the IV and used some of the leftover tape to press it down as tight as he could, then he pinched off the IV and eased it out of Lua's arm. The handkerchief started to grow red fairly quickly—he'd have to do a better job of that later, for now, he used his shadows to press down on the wound and hopefully stay the bleeding. Now Lua was free, and he hefted the boy onto his back.

— _No time to change back into our form—_ Yubel said. _—Just go!—_

Judai complied, bolting back out into the hallway with Lua on his back. Outside the room, he realized there was an alarm screaming down the hallway, lights flashing. A few people ran down the hall past him, skidding to a stop as they saw what he was carrying. He heard shouts and decided to ignore them, bolting for the office he had come through.

To his surprise, the door was still open—he thought he would have to punch through. Luckily, though, Smith wasn't there. Clean shot.

The other door was closed, though, and with Lua on his back, Judai couldn't get the door kicked down. He fumbled with the handle but it was locked—dammit!

He had to let Lua down to the ground gently, leaning him back against the wall. He'd get this door open and then—

“Here, he went this way, into Mr. Smith's office!”

Judai swore at the voices from the other room—he wasn't fast enough!

He turned and bolted for the other door, slamming it shut and sliding the lock closed. That should give him enough time to get the other door down!

He ran back to the other door—he was too fast, though, and his foot slipped on a fallen photograph from the wall. He yelped as he went down, landing hard on his back—for a moment, his head spun, and he couldn't breathe. His wind came back quickly enough, though, and he rolled back onto the balls of his feet in a crouch. He was just about to spring up and get the door down when something caught his eye—a photograph. It was one of the bunch that had been pasted lower on the wall since it was so full of photos, and Judai hadn't noticed it on his way in when he was standing upright. But now he was crouched down right at eye level with it, and he could feel the ice seeping into his chest and horror pulsing through him as he saw what was in the photo.

 _Oh god,_ he thought. _This...this is a joke, right? It's—it's not real_.

In the photo, like all of the others, Clark Smith was there smiling from the side as though he were introducing the other two figures to each other who were shaking hands. One of the others was someone Judai didn't recognize, but he looked like some kind of businessman, or investor, or something, in a dark suit and with balding hair.

The other one was Johan Andersen.

 


	25. Lupus

_Thirty minutes earlier_

Yusei sent one last glance at Judai's back, and then went to work unlocking the door. He cracked it open briefly, peeking inside. It wasn't an office, like he had expected—it appeared to be some kind of hologram room, with a big table in the middle. It looked like one of those antique Battle Box tables from the beginning of Duel Monsters, only this one was a little more high tech than the old boxes Yusei had seen in the dumpsters.

Yusei slipped inside and closed the door behind him. No sign of Lua, but he could get through the door on the other side and start looking through the rest of the building. He checked his watch. They had about twenty-five minutes left of feedback loop.

" _I think Judai's on the scent of something, he managed to talk his way out of that,"_ Bruno's voice came through Yusei's earpiece. _"Yusei, find some cover, that man Judai was just talking to is on his way into the room you're in!"_

Yusei swore—he looked around the room, but the only thing he could see to hide behind was the table, and he didn't have time to unlock the other door. He dove behind it as the door swung open.

"Just tell him to be _patient_ , you don't make reality bending technology overnight! We're working as fast as we goddamn can—yes, yes, all right, I'll send you the progress report this evening."

He was on a cellphone, Yusei thought as he peered briefly around the corner of the table. A tall American man with short blond hair and a ruffled suit—he must be the building manager, Clark Smith. Yusei had looked up his picture before they left. Of all the people to run into.

Yusei edged around the table as the man shut his cell phone, looking irritated as he crossed the room. Yusei moved so that the table was always in between them. He counted his breaths, and then, when the man's back was turned and he was busy jingling his keys in the lock of the door, Yusei bolted for the hallway.

He _almost_ made it completely clear, but he was at least in the hallway when the man glanced back over his shoulder.

"Oh, are you looking for the bathroom too?" he said.

Yusei's breath caught—but it seemed like he had gotten into the hallway in time, the man thought he was just passing by the open door. Yusei's eyes quickly darted around and he noticed the door to the cafeteria was right across from them.

"They sent me on a coffee run," he said quickly, jerking his thumb towards the door. "I just—happened to see the table in there and I got curious. That's a Battle Box style table, isn't it?"

The man looked impressed, turning away from the door to look Yusei up and down. Yusei held his breath—he knew, logically, that he was disguised, but…

"I'm surprised, most people don't know what these are anymore," he said.

"I see 'em in junkyards a bit when I'm looking for elusive parts," Yusei said, trying to shrug casually. "That's a new one, though."

"Yes, it's something of a pet project among some of the staff," the man said with a laugh. "People come and mess with it on breaks. You're welcome to come take a look!"

Yusei hesitated—this seemed kind of dangerous but…

If he could do at least one thing, he could distract the man in charge for as long as possible.

"That's very kind of you sir," he said, stepping into the room.

"Do you have any cards on you? We can have a look at what this thing can do," the man said.

Yusei never went anywhere without them, but he withdrew his deck a little nervously. He had a distinctive deck and since the Fortune Cup, he hadn't been exactly unknown in the dueling circuits. Would he be recognized? But he had to distract this man for as long as possible.

"I hope I'm not distracting you from anything for my curiosity," he said.

Smith was already pulling his own deck out of his inside pocket, setting his coffee cup aside. He laughed and shook his head, pointing at the cup.

"I was just going for my coffee break," he said. "And I'm always ready to show off a bit."

He laughed again as he shuffled his cards, and Yusei cracked a smile. He just had to remember, he wasn't Yusei right now. He was some nameless repair man who was interested in old dueling tables. He would have to make absolute certain he didn't use his most distinctive cards—Stardust was out of the question.

" _Yusei,"_ Bruno's voice hissed in his ear. _"Be careful...I think Sherry might be getting a little reckless."_

Yusei couldn't make any acknowledgment that he had heard, so he just scratched under his ear once and then returned to shuffling his own cards.

"Let's make things a little more interesting!" Smith said suddenly. "Have you ever played Duel Monsters with memory rules?"

"Memory rules?" Yusei said, blinking.

The man's smile was wide as he set his deck on the table, then spread it out so that all his cards were scattered across the table.

"It's simple," he said. "You call out what you want to do—summon a monster, play a spell, activate a trap, etc...and then you pick a card and flip it over. If it matches what you wanted to do and the conditions are right, you can then activate it."

Yusei's stomach dropped. Goddammit—if he didn't know what he was turning over, he might reveal himself. This seemed more dangerous. Was this man suspicious of him, or just legitimately interested in a new way of playing the game?

"That sounds interesting," Yusei said, trying to keep his voice smooth. "All right, let's try it."

He spread his own cards out on the table, tightening his jaw as he waited for Smith to make the first move.

"I'll summon a monster," he said, flipping over a card. "Ah, what luck!"

Level six Hexa Knight, Yusei read. It's effect would let it be special summoned when the opponent had no monsters on the field—that _was_ a lucky draw. The table hummed softly and a miniature Hexa Knight rose up out of the table, standing up and hefting its shield.

"I think I'll end my turn with that," Smith said. "Do you get the idea?"

Yusei nodded quietly, glancing over his cards. The chances of drawing a monster were very slim—it would take a miracle to know which was which without looking. That's why it was called a memory duel, he guessed—the more cards you turned over the more you would know the location of. Besides, Yusei didn't have to win, he just had to buy time.

"I'll summon a monster," he said, choosing a card at random. No luck—it was Scrap-Iron Scarecrow. He memorized the card before flipping it back down, at least he could block one attack next turn. "I'll activate a spell." No good there, either, it was Junk Synchron, and when he tried to activate a trap, he turned over a spell.

He couldn't find anything he could actually do, but at least he had found the locations of a few of his cards, and he could start making a strategy. This was—actually a kind of fun way to play, he thought. He felt a little excited in spite of himself for his next turn, his mind turning with plans for the cards he had revealed.

Smith took his turn then, humming softly.

"Let's see...I think I'm going to..." he started.

A cell phone jingle buzzed from his front pocket, and his brow furrowed with irritation.

"One moment please," he said, pulling his phone out and flipping it open to look at the caller id. He frowned and hit to answer.

"What is it? I thought I told you I was—"

He stopped halfway through the sentence, mouth hanging open and his face briefly going pale.

"Oh, my apologies, sir, I thought you were someone else—yes, yes, this is him."

He listened for a moment, and then his face changed, eyes flickering towards Yusei. Yusei tensed in spite of himself—something was _wrong_.

He didn't have a chance to react, though, before Smith reached under the table and hit a button. Yusei whirled at the sound of the door crashing shut behind him. He swore—he heard the lock click shut and he knew he was trapped. What—how—

"Yes, sir, I have him here," Smith said, eyes fixed on Yusei as Yusei whipped around. "Yes sir."

He closed his phone and tucked it back into his pocket.

"Mr. Fudo, is it?" he said. "My apologies for the inhospitable treatment, but my superior would like to have a few words with you."

"How did you know?" Yusei said, knowing there was no point in playing dumb after that.

"Let's just say we had an anonymous tip," Smith said. "Well...we have some time before security gets here...how about we finish our game while we wait?"

The man's smile was much crueler, now, and Yusei felt his blood go cold. How did they find out? Oh god, Bruno and Sherry and Judai—

" _Y-Yusei, I think they got us, Sherry and I are falling back, I think we're going to get cornered—meet us in the warehouse at the end of the hall, we should be able to get out that way!"_

That was if Yusei could get out of this room! His jaw clenched and his fists rolled up under the table. Would that button Smith had used open the door? He knew he could take the man on easily enough; he was a skinny, slender sort of person that had clearly never lifted much more than a sheaf of papers.

"Open the door," he said.

"Now, now, is it like a duelist to run away from a match?" Smith said with a laugh. "By the way...I'm going to be activating a spell. Fair Exchange."

Yusei tensed against the table—he didn't know what to do, he had to get out of here! He was going to have to fight him and then see if he could either break the door down or hack his way out.

A buzz started at the base of his skull. What was that? That tingling sensation? It was almost like—almost like a tiny, tinny voice in the back of his head, so far away that he couldn't hear it. What...was it?

"I can send three cards from my deck to my graveyard, and for the combined levels of any monsters sent to the graveyard, I can destroy as many cards in my opponent's deck."

Shit—while Yusei had been distracted by that voice, Smith was actually making a really good move—

"I wonder if fate will smile on me for this one," Smith said with a laugh, turning over his first card—level ten Decago Knight.

Yusei's entire body tensed up as Smith turned over _another_ Decago Knight—and then _another_. A total of thirty levels—thirty cards from his deck! Shit, he didn't have _time_ for this—

_Summon me._

Yusei almost choked—the voice was there again, only it was loud enough for him to hear this time—a tingly, fizzy sort of voice that felt like it was made out of sparkles.

"What?" he mumbled automatically.

"I said, thirty cards go from your deck to the graveyard," Smith said. "What's wrong, Mr. Fudo—I thought you were a duelist with some pride. You know, if you win, the door might unlock."

Yusei jaw clenched, and he slowly gathered up thirty cards from the table, setting them aside. He only had ten cards left, and he had been so flustered he was sure he had scooped away Scrap Iron Scarecrow. He had nothing to block Smith's next attack.

"I'll summon a monster," Smith said, sounding smug as he easily flipped over another monster—Triangle Knight. He must be cheating, how was he getting everything he needed? "They'll both attack you directly for a total of twenty seven hundred points!"

Yusei flinched as the Solid Vision swords briefly glanced over him, and his hands dug into the table. He had to do something to get out of here. Fighting Smith hand to hand seemed like the fasted option—

_SUMMON ME._

Yusei gasped, the voice feeling like a soft punch to the gut. What—who was that? The voice was all...fizzy with sparkles—no, not sparkles. With _stardust_.

Yusei's eyes flickered to his extra deck. Was...was Stardust...talking to him...?

His hand moved over the table almost by itself.

"I activate the effect of a trap sent to my graveyard, Limiter Break," he said. "When it's sent to the graveyard, I can special summon one Speed Warrior from my hand, deck, or graveyard."

Smith just smirked a bit as Yusei shuffled through his graveyard to find Speed Warrior, the miniature roller skater appearing on the field.

"A last ditch effort to be sure," he said. "But I admire your tenacity, using the graveyard to make up for your lack of skill in this version of the game."

Yusei wasn't listening, his hands were in autopilot.

"I summon a monster," he said, reaching for a card—he didn't know how, but he _knew_ what it was.

Clark's smirk drooped a little when the card revealed was Junk Synchron.

"And what do you think you can do with that?" he said.

"This," Yusei said, feeling a grin start in spite of himself. "First, when Junk Synchron is summoned, I can special summon a level two or lower monster from my graveyard. I'll summon Sonic Chick!"

Sonic Chick squealed as it appeared on the field, pattering across to meet the other two holograms.

"And then, when I have a Tuner on the field, Quillbolt Hedgehog can be summoned from the grave!"

The little hedgehog bounced onto the field and joined them. Yusei could see Smith's eyes flickering between the cards, his lips moving as though counting levels.

"It adds up to eight," he said for him. "I'll tune Junk Synchron with Speed Warrior, Sonic Chick, and Quillbolt Hedgehog."

At. the back of his mind, Stardust hummed with excitement, vibrating Yusei's entire body. What was happening that he could all of a sudden hear Stardust?

That wasn't the most surprising thing that happened, though. Because when the synchro summon animation began, those glowing green hoops were much, _much_ bigger than the dueling table should have been able to handle.

Smith actually screamed as the light condensed and a _full sized_ Stardust Dragon materialized inside the room. Yusei was shoved back by the sudden tail in the room, pressing him back gently against the wall. Stardust was too big for the tiny room, hissing as it twisted its head around. It shoved its face into Smith's, making the man scream again and fall to the ground.

"What the _hell_!" he shouted. "What are you _doing_?!"

 _I would really like to know the answer to that myself_ , Yusei thought dizzily.

Stardust's head swung around then, staring at Yusei. It huffed once, and Yusei actually felt air ruffling his face, a cool, metallic sort of scent on the dragon's breath.

 _You should have summoned me much sooner_ , Stardust huffed.

Then it opened its maw and Yusei swore, ducking down underneath its tail.

The silver, crackling energy _exploded_ through the door, melting it instantly and leaving behind a hole with melted metal edges.

_Go. Now._

For just a second, Yusei couldn't move. What was _happening_? He wasn't a psychic duelist, he didn't have the power to hear or see spirits like Judai and Luka, what was—how was this happening?

 _GO!_ Stardust screeched, and Yusei scrambled to his feet. He grabbed his cards off the table, shoved them into his pocket, and bolted into the hallway. He could still hear Stardust stomping around inside the tiny room and wondered dizzily how much damage his dragon was doing—part of him wondered wildly for a moment if somehow he had lost Stardust, like he was leaving the dragon behind.

But then he felt a soft, fizzy feeling like carbonation right underneath his skin, and he knew in his gut that Stardust was back in his deck.

He could think about what the fuck had just happened _later_. Now they had to get out of here.

Yusei bolted down the hallway towards the warehouse on the other side where Bruno had said he and Sherry were going. He hoped to god that Judai had heard too and was on his way...

A siren screamed through the building, then, and Yusei swore. Doors burst open and people starting flooding out in all directions, filling the hallway. Yusei put his head down, pulled his hat over his eyes, and darted around the flood of people towards the warehouse. He smacked into the door with his shoulder and fumbled with the handle—locked?

But it opened, then, and he tumbled through, Bruno grabbing him by the shoulders and finding his eyes, wide and wild. He wasn't in his disguise anymore, and neither was Sherry—that meant Yusei's disguise had dropped too, and that meant Judai wasn't maintaining them anymore.

"Where's Judai?" Bruno said.

"I—I don't know, he didn't get here yet?" Yusei's heart fluttered with panic—if their disguises weren't holding and Judai wasn't here, did that mean he had gotten caught? No, no, he must just have needed to redirect his magic, there was no way _Judai_ could fall so easily.

Sherry shoved the door closed behind them, leaning her shoulder against it as she peered through the thin window. Yusei had the space of a breath to take stock of their location.

They were in a huge warehouse, or maybe some kind of testing facility. Five large stands held what appeared to be giant pods, like futuristic magna train cars. Huge shipping containers lined the walls, with some sort of computer apparatus at the foot of each of the pod stands. The ceiling had some kind of apparatus that looked like it was meant to pick up the pods and move them along a series of tracks at the top, which ran to the end of the room where a glass panel took up half the wall, a space just big enough for the pods to go through. There must be something else that they had to go to on the other side of the glass.

"Here he comes!" Sherry said suddenly. "He's got Lua!"

Yusei's attention snapped back to the door. Sherry yanked it open and Yusei slipped around her—Judai careened down the hall with an unconscious Lua flapping on his back. Yusei reached out and caught him by the shoulders, drawing his arms around both him and Lua and pulling them inside.

Judai almost melted against Yusei, his arms sagging and almost losing Lua. Bruno caught the boy before he slipped off of Judai's back, gathering him up into his arms.

"Are you okay?" Yusei asked. "What happened to Lua?"

Judai just gasped for breath, face burrowed against Yusei's chest.

"He's—soul in spirit world," Judai mumbled. "It's fine, I—we can find him, we just have to—get his body to safety."

Yusei nodded, holding Judai tight against him. He seemed so shaky, more shaky than Yusei would have expected out of him, even considering their situation. He ran his fingers briefly through Judai's hair, trying to help him calm down.

"How did they find out?" Sherry said, locking the door and peeking through the window. "What happened?"

Yusei shook his head, still holding Judai tightly.

"I don't know; I was trying to distract Smith, when he got—he got a phone call, and that's when he knew and he tried to lock me in."

"You mean someone sold us out?" Bruno said, eyes wide. "But—who even knew we were—"

Judai stiffened in Yusei's arms, and Yusei looked down at him quickly. Judai's fingers tightened into Yusei's shirt, his face looking pale and strained, eyes wide. He looked like he was going to be sick.

"Judai?" Yusei said. "What's wrong?"

Judai shook his head—he didn't look like he could speak, he was still breathing so heavily.

"We need to get out of here before security realizes we're in here," Sherry said. "There should be another exit into the loading dock on the other side of this room. We can circle around and rendezvous with Johan in the back—"

"No!" Judai said suddenly.

Everyone looked at him, surprise ringing in Yusei's ears.

"What?" Yusei said. "What's wrong?"

Judai looked like he was about to pass out. He pushed out of Yusei's arms and put a hand to his forehead.

"We—" he started. He swallowed, his voice sounding tight. "I saw—"

He bit down hard on his lip, shaking his head and closing his eyes. Yusei took his shoulders.

"Judai, what is it?" he said. "Please, just say it."

"We're out of time!" Sherry said. "Security guards coming this way, we have to go!"

She shoved on Bruno's back, pushing him towards the other side of the room. Bruno hefted Lua into his arms and scurried off. Yusei grabbed Judai's hand and they both bolted. He wanted to stop, to make sure he knew what was wrong with Judai, what was making him act like this, but he knew they didn't have time—he wanted to stop and talk about what had happened with Stardust Dragon, too, but there wasn't any time for that either. Could he do it again? Could he bring out Stardust again to give them some extra time?

He didn't feel any of the same fizz from before, and he had a feeling it wasn't going to work again.

They reached the other side of the building. Bruno had transferred Lua over to Sherry while he fumbled for his tools, trying to unlock the door.

"It's no good, they've manually locked the whole building down," Bruno swore. "I'm going to have to fry the circuit board."

"Can you do that?" Sherry said.

"If I have enough time!"

Yusei turned towards the door, fists up—he didn't have his duel disk, but he could fight if he had to. The door on the other side of the room bulged as the security guards tried to force their way through—it seemed the manual shut down was slowing them down too.

A loud feedback sound briefly coursed through the room, making Yusei clap his hands to his ears with a groan. It squealed once more before a voice came out over the speakers.

"You are currently surrounded, Mr. Fudo and friends," Smith's voice came through the speakers. "Even if you get that door open, guards are already waiting outside. We ask that you turn yourselves over quietly."

"Not a chance, you fuck!" Sherry shouted.

Smith tutted softly into his microphone.

"Let's make a deal, can't we? My employers are interested in having a chat with Misters Fudo and Yuki. If the two of you turn yourselves in along with the boy you've so rudely kidnapped, the other two can go."

"Yeah, right, like that's an option," Yusei muttered.

He looked around the room for something, anything that he could use. What about those pods?

Yusei bolted across to the closest stand, looking over the display screen. His head spun just looking at it—this was absolutely nothing like any of the technology he had worked with, and he couldn't quite make heads or tails of it. He knelt down and pried the case off of the control panel, searching through the wires. What _was_ this for? He fiddled with a few wires, fumbling for his screwdriver. Maybe he could make something explode, that tended to make people back off. He wasn't sure what this system was for, but anything with wires could be convinced to catch fire.

"Mr. Fudo, I wouldn't play with that," Smith's voice echoed through the room. "In fact...I'd step back before you get burned, because I'm about to turn the system on."

Yusei jerked his hands back from the wires just in time as the machine groaned to life. The air got thick for a moment, and he almost choked—static filled the space and he could feel his hair starting to stand on end. What was happening?

He stumbled up to his feet, falling back against Judai's supportive hands.

"What is that?" Judai shouted over the sudden loud hum in the room.

Yusei looked up to see what Judai was staring at—and his throat dried up.

Through the glass panel on the other side of the room, the air was turning a deep, smokey magenta. It swirled slowly at the ceiling like some kind of upside down hurricane, the ceiling seeming to open up right at the center and into a white bubble of light. Yusei's eyes leaped back down to the panel.

"Oh my god," he mumbled. "That's—that's still theoretical."

"What is going on?" Sherry shouted.

"Yusei, do you know what this is?"

Yusei's whole body tensed, and he had to wipe the sweat off of his brow.

"It's—it's some kind of particle splitter, but it's on a larger, bigger scale than I thought was possible," he said. "They're—they're literally splitting _reality_ in here, Judai—we need to get out, now!"

The air was getting so thick and heavy, it was hard to breathe. When he tried to jog back over to Bruno and Sherry, it took enormous amounts of energy just to peel his feet off of the ground. He had read about shit like this in scientific journals but it was illogical, completely out of range of today's current technology.

"Is that a time splitter?" Bruno asked, looking up from his work to find Yusei's eyes, his own eyes wide.

"I think so," Yusei said. He felt a strange sense of comfort knowing that at least Bruno understood just how terrifying this was. The pods were probably built for insulation against this kind of shit, but if the rest of them were in here too long...they'd be sucked into the wormhole, and if they didn't just die instantly from the immense gravity, there was no telling where—or _when—_ they would end up. "How long before you get the door open?"

"I don't know," Bruno said, sounding frightened. "We'll get caught out there anyway."

"You leave that part to me," Judai said, but he was breathing really hard, and Yusei wondered how much strain he had been through today.

"Well these bastards aren't taking _me_ alive," Sherry said viciously.

Yusei winced. He didn't exactly want to _die_ in here.

"If you promise to surrender, I'll turn the machine off," Smith said over the speakers. "That's all it takes. Stop this foolishness and just hand yourselves over."

Judai grabbed for Yusei's hand, and Yusei automatically gripped it back.

"I'm sorry, I should be able to do something," Judai whispered. "But—ugh, this air...I can't focus..."

He looked even paler than before, and horribly exhausted. Yusei was feeling it too, the air was getting even harder to breathe and he felt like he was getting compressed. He couldn't focus either. He squeezed Judai's hand, pulling him closer to him so that they were standing shoulder to shoulder.

"Hang in there, we're going to get out of here," he whispered.

Judai looked up at him, and Yusei was shocked to see that there were—tears in his eyes.

"Yusei," he mumbled. "I saw something—in Smith's office—it was—"

Judai didn't get to finish his sentence, because the wall _exploded_.

Debris tumbled down over the floor as light poured through the hole. Yusei had to squint, through his hand over his eyes against the sudden explosion of sunlight.

He had never, ever been more happy to see thorny vines crawling in through the crack than he was right then.

Aki stood silhouetted at the top of the rubble, her duel disk held high and hair whipping in the wind from Black Rose Dragon's wings.

"Let's go!" she shouted.

Yusei grabbed Judai by the shoulder and whipped him towards the hole, then grabbed Bruno and heaved him up to his feet. Sherry was already going, clambering up the rubble with Lua in her arms. Aki dropped to one knee and reached out. She grabbed Sherry's arm and then one of her vines snaked out to cradle Lua, pulling him out through the hole. Yusei started climbing up too, and another face appeared in the space.

"I've got you!" Johan said, catching Yusei by the elbow. "God, what happened in there?"

Johan heaved Yusei up and over the entry, and Yusei's head spun as he dropped down onto the solid bulk of what appeared to be a _mammoth_.

"Car's out," Johan said, gasping for breath. "They almost got me in the parking lot, lucky for us that Aki and the others showed up when they did."

Yusei couldn't see for the sunlight for a few minutes, but as his vision returned, he saw the chaos of the parking lot. Manjoume's Ojama King was pile driving a trio of security guards, while Asuka's trio of Cyber Angels held off a group of guards on motorcycles. The air whined with the hum from one of Shou's helicopter monsters. He hung out the side, reaching out a hand.

"I can't get any lower than this, let's go!" he shouted.

Johan steadied Yusei up on top of the mammoth, helping him make the jump for Shou's hand. Shou heaved Yusei up into the copter with some difficult, and then Bruno followed after him. Judai clambered up next, and then Johan was swinging in behind them.

"Where's Sherry and Lua?" Shou asked.

"Aki's got them," Johan said, gesturing. Yusei leaned out a little from the helicopter monster to look—Aki crouched on the back of Black Rose Dragon, lifting off into the air with Lua cradled against her, Sherry holding onto her back for dear life.

They lifted off, away from the building, leaving the wreckage and chaos behind. Yusei's heart hammered in his chest as he leaned back into the machine, trying to get his air back. They had—somehow—made it. They were all okay, they had Lua, and they were _out_.

 _Yliaster has a time machine_ , he thought suddenly, it hitting him all at once. _They can make wormholes—that shouldn't be possible yet. We don't have the technology in this era yet—_

Yusei's blood chilled.

_Is Yliaster from the future...?_

Judai time traveled to his era somehow. Could he have possibly gotten involved with Yliaster in another timeline, and fallen through? Was that what had happened?

 _Everything is connected somehow_ , he thought. _I—I need to talk to Judai about this_.

He turned towards Judai, mouth open, but then something made him stop. Judai's face was still pale and drawn, as though they hadn't just gotten out of a scrape safe and sound. He was staring across the helicopter bay. Yusei followed his gaze to...

Johan? Why was he looking at Johan like that?

Johan all at once seemed to notice Judai's stare, and he looked up from where he had been glancing down at the world below.

"Is something wrong?" he said. Concern washed over his face, and he shifted forward. "Are you okay? Did you get hurt when we busted through?"

Judai swallowed. He licked his lips briefly.

"I...need to talk to you," he said quietly.

Johan's lips parted, his brow furrowing.

"What happened in there?"

He glanced quickly at Yusei, but Yusei shrugged—he didn't know what was getting Judai so worked up either.

Judai's eyes dropped to the floor.

"When we get back," he said. "We need to talk."

Johan looked...worried, his brow furrowed and shoulders tense.

"O...kay," he said, looking uncertain. "Are you okay?"

Judai just looked at the floor. Yusei tried to slide his hand across the floor to touch his hand, but Judai's fingers skittered away, so subtly that Yusei wasn't sure he had done it on purpose or not. Something had really spooked Judai...what was wrong?

He guessed he was going to have to wait, too.

At the very least...they had gotten Lua out. They were together again. Everything was going to be okay now...right?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Lol you guys have to wait another chapter before we talk about the mysterious picture of Johan heheeeee
> 
> Yusei seems to be doing some interesting things, though, I wonder what that's about??  Guess you'll all have to wait and seeeee~


	26. Sagittarius

Judai could tell that Johan wanted to grab him the minute they got back, but he made sure that he was adequately busy with the others: answering their questions, making sure they moved Lua's currently empty body to a safe place where they could maintain his body's normal functions until the soul was returned, touching base with the people who had stayed behind and filling them in on what had happened, was everyone okay, oh god is that Lua is he all right why isn't he waking up?

The truth was, Judai's head was still spinning. The image of Johan in that photo—what was wrong with him? How could he...how could he doubt _Johan_ of all people?

Yusei kept sending Judai glances, too—he had been one of the only people to notice when Judai had told Johan that they needed to talk, and judging by the way that Yusei kept brushing his hand against the back of Judai's and trying to catch his gaze, he was waiting to hear what that was about too.

But Judai didn't...he didn't...

He almost didn't even want to bring it up now—he didn't want his worst fears to be realized. He was afraid...afraid that he would ask the question and he would see Johan's eyes darken or glaze over quickly as he asked Judai what he was talking about, afraid that Judai would smell a lie on _Johan's_ voice. He was afraid.

Yusei, finally, seemed tired of waiting however. He grabbed Judai by the elbow and muttered something about Judai needed to rest after using so much magic today—really, Judai hadn't used all that much at all—but Yusei swept Judai up the stairs and into the dark hallway.

For a moment, Yusei just held him there, his hands on his shoulders, the two of them echoing each other's breaths.

"What happened in there?" Yusei whispered, his voice seeming to reverberate against Judai's ears.

Judai swallowed, realizing all at once that his throat was tight.

"I...Yusei..."

He swallowed again, closing his eyes—but he only saw the photograph again, of Johan shaking hands with the man that had tried to kidnap them. He had...he had to ask Johan. He had to ask what...what did it _mean_...

A soft knock on the wall caught his attention, and his eyes opened up.

It was Johan.

Judai was, once again, struck by how much older Johan looked. _He''s nearly fifty now_ , Judai thought, head spinning a bit at the thought. _He's taller than me. He's...is he the same person I knew in high school?_

Johan can't...Johan wouldn't change. Right...?

In the dim light of the hallway, illuminated by the light from behind, it was almost hard to see Johan's face. But from what Judai could see, he looked...hesitant. He hovered on the top step of the stairs, not quite stepping up into the same space as Judai and Yusei.

"You...said you needed to talk," Johan said, looking at the floor. It was still his face—older, but intimately the same, the same expressions, the same way his eyes flickered when he wasn't sure what to say, same way he chewed on the inside of his cheek when he was uncertain. "Is this a bad time?"

Judai instinctively reached for Yusei's hands on his shoulders. For a moment, he just...held his hands there, feeling the bumps of Yusei's knuckles through his gloves. Then he slowly, slowly slid Yusei's hands off of him. He turned so that he was fully facing Johan.

He had—

He had to ask.

For a few moments, his throat just tightened, and he couldn't get it out. He couldn't get anything out. Yusei silently brushed his hand against Judai's again, and Judai grabbed for it, holding it as tightly as possible. A lifeline.

He was out of place—no, out of time, Judai thought with a dull gray in his head. He didn't belong in this space. He didn't know how to belong in it. Everything...nothing was what he remembered it to be.

"Johan," he finally breathed, just grabbing for the familiarity of his best friend's name. "I...I saw something. I saw something in Smith's office."

Johan's face didn't change, didn't flicker with any hint of recognition, he just...waited. He looked a bit confused, maybe but...

Maybe it had been...a trick? Somehow? Judai wanted to believe that more than anything. But—he had to know.

"It was a photograph," Judai said. "Of Smith. And—"

He choked for a moment, trying to get it out.

"Of Smith and...and you."

He felt Yusei's hand slacken in his with the shock, and then tighten again. Out of the corner of his eye, Yusei's eyes flickered quickly from Judai, and then to Johan. He actually—Yusei actually shifted, ever so slightly, as though to place his shoulder in between Judai and Johan. Judai almost cried—Yusei was so quick to protect him. Judai didn't want to have to feel like he needed it—not from Johan.

For just a second, Johan didn't speak, his face didn't change.

And then, something like clarity broke over his face.

"Oh," he breathed. "Oh. Shit."

He groaned softly, leaning his head down into his hand, just pressing his hand into his eyes for a moment.

"Johan?" Judai said. This—this wasn't the reaction he had been expecting, and it certainly wasn't what he had been hoping for.

When Johan looked back up, he looked...frustrated. Sad, maybe.

"Come downstairs," he said. "Please. I—I only want to explain this to everyone once."

He turned, and his feet seemed to echo in Judai's brain as he descended. What did that mean...? He didn't...he didn't seem angry. Didn't seem like an Yliaster agent who had had his cover blown. But he didn't...he didn't quite seem like Johan, either.

"Judai?" Yusei whispered, and Judai jumped, not having realized that he had faded back into an almost panicky haze.

Judai ducked his head away from Yusei's questioning gaze.

"I'm fine," he said, trying to choke through the tightness in his throat. "I'm—fine."

He wanted to let go of Yusei's hand, but he...he couldn't do it. He clung to it instead.

"Let's...let's go listen."

_What is he going to say...?_

_Am I...going to like it...?_

By the time Yusei had managed to slowly guide Judai to the bottom of the stairs, everyone had already gathered—there was a faint buzz to the room, a nervous hum that made Judai even more tense.

Johan was sitting at the far end of the kitchen table, resting his forehead against his hand, the other laying on the table. He had taken a position that was completely on the other side of everyone else. If the truth came out that he really _was_ Yliaster...he'd be surrounded by everyone in an instant. Maybe...maybe he was trying to put Judai at ease by putting himself at a disadvantage like that? Then again, not everyone thought like Judai, in terms of battles and strategies and where the best places to escape a bad situation were. He could be grasping at straws.

"What's the deal, Johan?" Manjoume said. "Why are you acting like somebody died?"

Johan let out a soft breath, making his shoulder slump a little. Then he took his hand away from his face and let both hands rest on the table, looking up at everyone.

He mostly, though, looked at Judai.

"I need to talk to all of you," he said. "I—I haven't been entirely truthful with all of you."

Judai's heart _clenched_ , and for a second, he couldn't breathe.

"You sound—you sound pretty intense, Johan," Shou said, laughing a little nervously. "What happened?"

Johan took a minute, taking another breath. He had to pull his hands up to rest his face against his folded hands for a beat. When he opened his eyes again, they were...somehow distant. Braced.

"I'm just going to ask—please...before you all panic...let me explain everything," he said.

He took one more deep breath.

"Twenty years ago," he said. "I was a member of Yliaster."

Dead silence filled the room.

Judai's head buzzed. For a second, he couldn't breathe. It was true—his worst fear was true, Johan was—

Yusei's hand tightening into his yanked him out of his thoughts. Twenty years ago. He said—twenty years ago. That mean—not anymore, right?

"Are you fucking _shitting_ me?" Manjoume said. "You've been—you've been _sitting_ on this for—"

Manjoume actually advanced on Johan, the table getting in between them. Aki was the one to grab him by the shoulder, preventing him from lunging across it.

"Please," Johan breathed. "Let me explain—I asked you to let me explain."

"That sounds like an explanation to me," Jack rumbled, his face almost red and furious. "You worked with our _enemy_?"

"You _worked_ with them?" Sherry said, her shrill voice echoing over them. "Are you still—is that how they knew we were there today? Did you fucking sell us out?"

"Guys, calm down!" Asuka shouted over them. " _Listen_! Listen, goddammit. Especially you, Jun—you know Johan better than that!"

Manjoume's hands braced against the table, breathing thick and hard.

"You have fifteen seconds," he said.

Judai could barely breathe—this was going—so badly. Oh god—he wished Johan had talked to him privately first, wished Johan would just explain—

"I'm trying to explain," Johan said, sounding a little hoarse, his face pale. " _Please_."

The room, after a beat, got a quiet again. Johan tried to breathe, his eyes closing for a few moments.

"They approached me after I had gotten my school started. They sent a girl I had known from North Academy; I had asked her before if she would teach at my school and when she came to interview with me, she introduced me to Yliaster."

"And you just—what, you said, oh this looks like a cult I can trust, let's do that!" Manjoume said.

"Jun!" Asuka said.

"Let the guy talk," said Crow, his voice harsh and cutting. "Fuck."

Johan waited for things to calm down a bit before he started talking again.

"I met with a few people and they explained themselves. I knew a lot of people already who belonged to the group. I—they knew about things that had happened while we were in high school," Johan said. "I...at the time, I...they told me they wanted to fix the world."

"And you thought that was trustworthy?" Sherry said.

"Listen," Johan said, trying to talk, still looking pale. "Something was wrong with...everything. My Duel Spirits agreed. There was something wrong in their worlds, too—the ancient forests were dying, spirits were disappearing or getting sick, something was _wrong_."

Luka gasped softly, as though that had reminded her of a memory of her own.

"So when a bunch of proto magicians showed up on my doorstep basically begging for my help to fix it—yes, I believed them!"

Johan almost...crumpled in on himself, pressing the heels of his palms into his eyes, elbows on the table.

"They didn't _look_ like a cult from the outside, you have to understand that," Johan said. "They were _scientists_. They didn't cut my palm and make me say an oath, they gave me a folder of scientific readouts and asked me to start monitoring interdimensional energy outputs."

Judai's mind flashed back all at once to some of his most recent memories of the time before he had found himself in Yusei's time. He had done a lot of world jumping himself, wandering about, helping spirits, fixing things here and there. He remembered...rot. Spirits who would just kind of shrug and say yeah, that's been growing for a while, we can't seem to figure out how to stop it. Weird, acidic oil patches that monsters would warn each other to stay away from, things that hadn't been there before and seemed to move when you weren't looking at them. Distortions, like pinched air, slipping between buildings like ghosts in the middle of the night and the spellcasters who warned others to lock all their windows and doors when the sun went down for fear that another spirit would go missing when it accidentally brushed against it, and then just seemed to be dragged inside the pocket and vanish.

"So yeah—I joined up with them. I provided information to them that my Duel Spirits searched out among the other dimensions. The Crystal Beasts trusted them at first, too, I thought—I thought that this was like the same kind of thing we used to have to do as kids in high school, fighting against the weird shit in the world and fix it."

"And when exactly did you find out that they were _not_ what they were cracked up to be?" Manjoume said, still sounding dangerous.

"Eighteen years ago. Just before Zero Reverse."

Johan's face...tightened for a moment, and he looked down at the table.

"They sent someone with—with a proposal," he said, his jaw tight. "The gist of it was—they wanted me to start introducing combat classes into my curriculum. They wanted to turn my kids into soldiers."

His hands fell back to the table and tightened into fists against.

"I told them to fuck off," he said. "And that's when I—when I started to notice that things weren't what they were supposed to be. The research we were doing—it wasn't for fixing the world's balance, or if it was, it was off the mark. We were fucking up more than we were fixing—and I didn't feel like...it didn't feel like anyone cared, or noticed. I couldn't tell which."

"So they just...let you leave?" Shou said, his voice tiny and quiet.

"Yeah," Manjoume said. "Fujiwara said all the people he had found from Yliaster that he tried to get information out of just—died."

Johan's face actually twisted into a sardonic half-grin at that.

"I didn't let on right away," he said. "I rejected the proposal, and I started withholding parts of my research from the people sent to collect data from me, but I wanted to know what I could get out of them—if I could figure out what they were actually trying to do. And that's when I met Harald."

"Harald?" Judai said. His voice felt surprisingly calm—actually, _he_ felt surprisingly calm.

 _Johan isn't a part of Yliaster_ , he thought, the relief crashing through him suddenly. _He was, but he's—he's still Johan. He's still the same Johan I always knew. He's just been trying to do his best, all this time—just like he always did._

It was so relieving that he almost fell over, and he had to lean against Yusei for support. Yusei released his hand so that he could slide his arm around Judai's waist, holding him.

For a moment, Johan just looked at Judai, his lips slightly parted, as though he were surprised that Judai had spoken. Something in Johan's face relaxed, then, and Judai thought it must be because he had seen in Judai's face Judai's own relief. It must have relieved Johan too.

"He was a disillusioned member of Yliaster too," Johan said. "But he wasn't just doing petty acts of rebellion like me—he was breaking off entirely."

He laced his fingers together on the table.

"He, along with a handful of others, had been gathering information from Yliaster for years, diverting it to themselves—but they thought they had enough now, and it was time to make their move. Harald had heard that I had started some friction between myself and the leadership with my refusal of their proposal, so he approached me—asked me to join them."

The room was so quiet now that you could hear everyone's breathing, a soft hum through the room. With the initial burst of shock and anger over, everyone was just listening.

"I was wary because of—what I had already been through with Yliaster, but I thought this was as good a time as any to try and get out," he said. "I made him promise my school would be safe, and he showed me assurances that he could make that happen. He and his two closest allies have some—incredible monsters at their disposal."

"So you joined _another_ cult?" Manjoume said, incredulous.

Johan shook his head.

"It's not Yliaster," he said. "They were all people who had found out horrible truths about Yliaster too, and wanted out. There was strength in numbers, and Harald was—well, he was charismatic. Plus, his monsters protected us from whatever power Yliaster was using to kill off traitors."

He had to pause, catch his breath—he looked so…nervous, Judai realized. He had been keeping this in for so long…and now, even his friends were wary.

"Why didn't you reach out to us?" Asuka whispered, her voice echoing through the quiet kitchen.

Johan's head sagged slightly.

"I didn't want you guys involved," he said. "I had seen what Yliaster could do—if I got their sights on you guys…and…and Judai was already nowhere to be seen."

His eyes lifted up to Judai then, and Judai felt his heart clench up.

"I was afraid that—maybe he was gone because of me. That Yliaster had gone after him because I defected and I—I couldn't handle if that happened to anyone else. I wanted you all far away from this."

"But then we approached you for help, and you didn't say anything about this," Manjoume said. "You could have given us tips about what we were dealing with! You could have connected us with this—other group that's supposed to be fighting Yliaster!"

"You didn't come to me until _years_ after I had left Yliaster; any information I would have had was less than what you already knew," Johan said. "And—I didn't want you guys mixed up with the Order of the Stars either. By the time I met up with you guys…I was already getting worried again. They weren't the rebellion against Yliaster that I thought they were."

"What are they then?" Jack said.

"Yliaster believes that they have the power to fix the world," Johan said. "Their research is devoted to that. The Order of the Stars…they believe that humans have no right to interfere with the way the universe turns. They believe that if the universe is going to die…we should just let it."

He looked up at Manjoume with a wry smile.

"Are those the people that you want to be associating with?" he said.

For a few, long moments, no one spoke. Judai could hear every single tick of the clock hanging from the wall, and the faint echo of the clocks in the store above them besides. Finally, he let out a very, deep breath—one that he hadn't been aware that he was holding.

"Thank god," he murmured, and it was so quiet in the room that everyone heard him, all eyes sliding towards him. But he only look at Johan, feeling a relieved smile grow over his face. "I'm just—I'm glad...you're still the same Johan..."

Johan blinked. And then a faint, tentative smile grew over his face.

Manjoume huffed, running a hand through his hair.

"Geez," he said. "This is why you just need to be up front with us from the beginning."

He shook his head, then reached forward to slap Johan lightly on the shoulder.

"Stop making that stupid face."

"I wasn't trying to make any kind face," Johan said, smiling with a bright relief.

Judai closed his eyes briefly. He just...ugh. He felt so much better now. He had been so scared but...it was still Johan, and it was always Johan.

"So you have no contact with Yliaster anymore?" Jack said.

"No," Johan said.

"What about this...Order of the Stars thing?" Crow said.

"I broke my communicator with them. They don't know where I am or what I'm doing anymore," Johan said. "I...I don't agree with them anymore, thinking that we shouldn't interfere at all with the universe."

His eyes slid back to Judai and Yusei then, and he seemed about to say something, but then his mouth closed again. He shook his head, rubbing the back of his neck.

"They really did try, I think," he said quietly. "They wanted to be what the world needed. But after..."

He hesitated, eyes falling to the table.

"After what?" Aki said.

Johan's lips pressed together briefly. His eyes flickered, but it was so fast that Judai wasn't sure who he was looking at.

"A few members of the Order found something from Yliaster that scared them. They asked Harald to come to talk to them about it, but he got himself too busy; he didn't think it was worth the trip. And they ended up dead and he didn't seem to think it was an issue."

Something in the air turned cold and icy for a moment.

"Who were they?"

The voice was Sherry's. All eyes turned towards her, then. Her face was white, fists trembling.

"What do you mean?" Johan said slowly.

"Don't act dumb—the members of the Order who died because this Harald person wouldn't talk to them about what they discovered. Who were they?"

Johan's eyes dropped to the table. Judai's mind flashed back with a horrible wrenching sensation to that moment in the car on the way to Ener-D. When Johan had asked about Sherry's parents, and Johan's soft breath of _"I know that company."_

"Who were they?" Sherry hissed again, stepping forward.

Johan's hands clenched on top of the table.

"I never met them face-to-face," he said, eyes on his hands. "But...he was the CEO of Circuitworks...and she was his wife..."

Bruno sucked in a breath, and Yusei looked pale. The others didn't seem to know what was going on, Jack glancing back and forth between Sherry, Asuka looking confused, Aki chewing on her lip and Luka clinging to Crow with uncertainty on both their faces.

It was Manjoume who swore softly.

"Ulysse and Émeline LeBlanc," he mumbled. "And you're..."

He looked at Sherry just as she made a strange, strangled sound.

"You knew," she said, eyes fixed on Johan. "You knew my parents, you knew they died, I'll bet you know _why_ they died, and you didn't say anything, you didn't say a goddamn thing, you acted dumb when you asked—"

"I didn't recognize you," Johan said, shoulders hunching. "And I didn't think about your surname at the time, I swear, I didn't realize—I never met them, I knew of them through Harald but I don't know what it was they found—"

It all happened so quickly that Judai's head spun. Sherry lunged at Johan, Judai shot forward himself but he was too far away and it was too crowded in here, Manjoume managed to grab her by the back of her hair as her hand swiped for Johan's throat and Johan's eyes widened as he leaned back too far out of reach so that his chair tumbled down with a crash, Aki shouted, Luka screamed, Crow and Jack started swearing as Manjoume and Asuka briefly tried to hold a struggling Sherry back and Yusei tried to get around the table to see if the fallen Johan was all right.

"You knew, you fucking knew, you bastard, you knew—how do I know you're not still working with the people that killed them, you fucking—"

"Calm the fuck down!" Manjoume shouted, but Sherry's elbow connected with his ribs and he grunted, and then she was free. For a moment, Judai thought she was going to go after Johan again, her eyes flashing wild at all of them.

Then she barreled past Judai, throwing him against the table with a painful crack—and the door slammed open and she was gone, disappeared into the black night.

Judai tried to breathe, clinging to the table for support as his head spun. Sherry was gone. She had just...left.

"Fuck," Manjoume swore.

"Johan, are you all right?" Yusei said.

Johan looked dizzy, clutching one hand to his temple as Yusei tried to help him sit up.

"I'm okay," he said. "It—that was my fault...I'm sorry..."

"It _wasn't_ your fault," Asuka said.

Jack grunted.

"She did have a point," he said. "This is something we should have known about a long time ago."

"I know," Johan said, looking down at the floor. "I didn't...know how to bring it up."

"Leave him alone," Judai said, the words tumbling out. "Please."

The eyes in the room all swung towards him, and Jack looked down, looking a bit guilty.

"Judai..." Johan said, his voice faint.

"No, sh," Judai said, clutching the table. "Not knowing didn't hurt us so far. And—you weren't lying. It's not like...you knew you could have done something for Sherry's parents. It's just...a bad coincidence."

Johan smiled gratefully, but there was a hint of nerves at the back of his expression that made Judai know that he was still blaming himself for something, if not everything.

Judai swallowed, trying to get his bearings back. Sherry probably was gone for good. She definitely didn't trust them anymore. They still had the same enemy, though, so he prayed to any god that would listen that she wouldn't end up as yet another enemy. This Order of the Stars group might be something they had to worry about too. He'd need more details from Johan.

And then there was, as always, Yliaster. And Fujiwara. And everything else that demanded his attention.

 _At least I don't have to doubt Johan_ , he thought, a weight lifting off of his shoulders. _Thank god._

He sucked in a thick, heavy breath.

"Okay," he said, looking back at the room. "I think...at least that part's settled...right?"

Not everyone would meet his gaze, but most people nodded, and no one else said anything else.

"That means we can focus on what we need to do next," he said. "We have Lua's body back, but his spirit is trapped somewhere in the spirit world. We have to start figuring out how we're going to go about looking for him."

"I think first, we need to get some rest," Yusei said quietly.

Everyone glanced at him as he stood up, helping Johan to his feet as well.

"I know everyone wants to get going as soon as possible," Yusei said, holding up a hand to still the protests that were opening on a few mouths. "But we're exhausted. Today...today was not easy for any of us. We won't be able to help Lua without rest."

He fixed his gaze on Judai at that, and Judai's face flushed. He hadn't been planning on trying to sleep at all. Yusei had his number.

"Fine," Crow grumbled. "Luka, come on, you probably need rest the most..."

"Don't let me oversleep," Luka said, looking desperately between Yusei and Judai. "I can help look for Lua. Please."

Yusei put a hand on her shoulder and smiled gently.

"Don't worry," he said. "We won't leave you out."

She seemed pacified by this, and let Crow lead her out of the kitchen and up to the loft. Manjoume slipped nearer to Asuka and Shou to start whispering something to them, and Jack huffed, walking back around Bruno towards his own space in the loft, Carly scurrying behind him. Aki nodded at Judai and Yusei, then walked out of the kitchen herself.

"I'll take a first watch," she said.

No one argued with her.

Yusei walked around the table then, to stand near Judai. His hands almost automatically slid around Judai's waist, holding him gently against him, and Judai let out a huge sigh, letting his head fall against Yusei's shoulder.

"You need sleep," Yusei said.

"I don't want to," he mumbled. "I'll dream."

"I'll stay with you," Yusei said, stroking some of Judai's hair away from his face with two fingers. "Okay?"

Judai felt so... _weak_. He didn't have time to be weak. But all of this, all day...those near-misses in the factory, the fear of Johan not being the person he thought he was replaced by relief, Sherry's meltdown, Lua still being lost in the spirit world...he felt like he was melting. Yusei just held him, his breath cool against Judai's head.

"Okay," Judai said, his voice a thin whisper as he twined his hand with Yusei's. "That's all right, I guess..."

* * *

 

Lua's hands squeezed into the dirt, coming awake slowly. He coughed as he came awake. His entire body heaved for a moment as though he had just inhaled an entire lungful of sand. Once he finally managed to breathe again, he squinted—there was sand in his eyelashes and he had to blink it free before he could see.

This definitely wasn't the place he had been trying to go—it definitely wasn't the forest were Ancient Fairy Dragon was.

Lua lay sprawled on a long, lonely gray beach. The sky overhead was a gloomy, heavy gray, leeching the color out of dull blue ocean that breathed slowly against the shore. Lua groaned as he managed to sit up. The sand felt more like dirt, sticky rather than slippery, and it was all over him. Where exactly was he? He was in one of the spirit worlds, he knew that much, but...which one?

Nervousness trailed down his spine. He felt like...something was watching him...

The ocean itself seemed to be leering at him with its endless expanse as he staggered to his feet, wobbling slightly to catch his balance. He turned in a slow circle, trying to get a feel for where he was.

Behind him, the shore turned immediately into a huge, black cliff. As far as he could see, there was nothing but black cliffs lining the entirety of the beach. Up at the top he could see jutting stones, a few twisted black trees without any leaves, but...he couldn't see a way up. His heart fluttered. He was trapped between a rock and the ocean. Where was he supposed to go?

A soft splash caught his attention and he yelped, spinning around—

Nothing. He didn't see anything. Swallowing, he backed away from the froth at the edge of the sea until he had back up against the cliff. At least he didn't have to worry about something sneaking up behind him. He hoped. This was the spirit world after all—nothing was certain. Anything could be hiding here.

In fact, he was really mostly worried at how empty everything felt.

" _The spirit world is full of so many monsters,"_ Luka had always told him. _"I haven't seen all of the worlds, but most of them are just crawling with life. Every card you see has a monster in the other world, or maybe several!"_

Lua swallowed.

If there were so many monsters in this world, why didn't he see any life at all?

Well, he couldn't just stand here...he had to find shelter at least, somewhere he could hide until Luka and Judai and the others could find him. At least...he hoped they could find him.

 _Maybe I should have just stayed there with him..._ Lua thought. He shook his head quickly. No! He couldn't stay locked up where that weird person could try to use his powers to hurt people. And if he...if he died out here...

He shuddered to think about it. Death seemed like a faraway concept for him. But...but if he did have to die, at least it meant he couldn't be used to hurt anyone.

Lua set off down the long strip of beach. He hummed to himself for a bit, trying to stave off the nerves from how quiet it was, but the sound echoed off of the cliff face and it felt more scary than the silence, so he stopped. He wondered if maybe he could find a way to talk to Luka from out here. He had managed to speak to Luka across dimensions before...could he call out to her from here?

He didn't know how to even try doing that, so he decided he'd rather not start shouting and attract unwanted attention.

The cliff face was getting a little more pock marked where he was now, little chips and debris spread out over the ground. He had to clamber over it, scraping his hands and knees. There were a few places where he had to track through the water because it was so close to the cliff, and he ran through that without worrying how much sound the splashing made. He didn't want to touch the water for long if he didn't have to. Something about it made him nervous.

The caves that were starting to appear in the cliffs made him nervous too. He swallowed, hoping they weren't very deep. Or at least hoping that there wasn't anything that wanted to eat him inside.

Something in one of the caves rumbled.

Lua squeaked, diving behind a rock. He clutched at it, his hands pale and shaking against the black stone. What was that? Thunder? No, he thought it had come from inside that cave. Oh god, what could be in there?

He chanced a tiny peek over the top of the rock. ….Nothing. It was empty. He licked his lips—why did he feel so nervous? He just needed to keep walking. There had to be a way from this beach eventually...

He started to step out from around the rock—and something grabbed him by the collar and dragged him back against the rock. HE tried to scream but a hand latched around his mouth and clutched him down as—

The cave exploded. There was an echoing roar, and Lua saw— _something—_

From where he was being held down, it looked like a giant worm, snaking out over the sky—teeth flashed in a huge maw, and something goopy and slimy dripped down from the shape and left crusty, instantly dry slime on the ground.

And then it retreated, slipping back inside the tunnel and the world once again rang with silence.

The hand over Lua's mouth vanished, and Lua struggled back, stumbling over the rocks and falling onto his butt again as he tried to turn around and see what had been holding him—

But there was...nothing. He didn't see anyone. Lua put a hand to his mouth. Had he...somehow imagined it? It hadn't hurt him...in fact...it might have saved his life there...

Lua swallowed, eyes filling with tears.

"Please," he whispered. "Please...someone...someone help me..."

" _Please...someone...someone help me..."_

* * *

 Taro startled awake, accidentally elbowing Yoshi in the face.

"Oh—fuck," Yoshi mumbled. "Taro, the fuck..."

Taro blink through his sleepy eyes, looking dizzily around the tiny hotel room that he and his teammaters had rented for the WRGP. He looked down at the floor—oh, geez...he had accidentally knocked their cards off the table...

Taro groaned, rubbing a hand over his face as he swung his legs over the side of the bed. Yoshi and Jinbei were crammed into the tiny bed beside him; there was no room in this hotel room for a cot if they were hiding their D-Wheel in here with them, and they hadn't been able to afford a second room. Taro pawed at their cards, yawning as he piled them back up. One slipped out of his fingers, and he fumbled to peel it off the floor.

"Come on, you," he mumbled. "Come on, man..."

It was Kageningen, causing trouble as always. Yoshi always made fun of him for acting like the cards had personalities, but Taro thought they did. This one, for example, was always slipping out of his deck when he didn't want it to. It was just a basic normal monster with only eight hundred attack, and it looked like a creepy, red-skinned demon man with a shadow version of himself growing out the back. Taro shook his head at the monster, putting it back onto the deck. He yawned again—and then choked on the yawn as that voice shot past his ears again.

" _Please...please, someone, help me, I can't do this, please, I'm scared, someone—"_

Taro's eyes flickered down to Kageningen. It looked...the same as always. Why was he feeling...weird about it?

"Hello?" he whispered. "Is someone there?"

Nothing. No response. Taro hesitated, chewing on his lip. He must...still be half asleep. Never mind that he felt wide awake, skin crawling and heart thumping in his chest.

" _Yusei, Luka, Judai, someone, please—I can't do this, I'm not strong enough, please, help me..."_

Taro bit hard on his tongue. Yusei? The ghost voice was calling out for _Fudo Yusei_?

Something...was up...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally back with an update :'D  And yayyyy looks like Johan's still good!  Are y'all mad at me for scaring you? XD  Lua's still in trouble tho...hope they get him out soon~


	27. Triangulum

Yusei couldn’t sleep.  He was used to that, of course.  Insomnia was a normal problem for him.  But with all the people in the house, he didn’t feel right about slipping down to start fiddling with his D-Wheel—it was one thing to bother Jack and Crow out of sleep when they were in peacetime; it was another thing entirely to disturb a whole group of people out of their much needed rest.

So it was, he thought, something of a blessing that Judai was here.

He absently twirled some of Judai’s hair around one finger, looking down at his calm, sleeping face.  It was the calmest he had seen Judai in ages.  He was glad that at least one of them was able to get some rest—he needed it more than anyone.

_He’s working so hard to protect all of us.  He feels like he has to be the one to make sure everything works out…_

Yusei understood.  He was supposed to be the Dragon’s Head, the leader of the Signers.  Sometimes he felt like he wasn’t up to the task at all.  But he still felt the obligation like a horrible dragging at the base of his spine.  He had to make sure everyone was okay.

Lua still wasn’t okay.  His chest tightened just thinking about it.  He wasn’t even a Signer.  This wasn’t fair.  Why did Lua have to be mixed up in this?

Judai stirred at Yusei’s hand in his hair, his eyes fluttering.  Yusei winced—he hadn’t meant to wake Judai up, but the dawn _was_ starting to filter in between the blinds.

Judai licked his lips and swallowed.  His eyes half opened and squinted against the thin morning light.  As his eyes found Yusei’s, a faint smile flickered over his lips, and Yusei felt his heart jump a few beats.

Judai let out a heavy sigh, sliding his head against Yusei’s hand, and Yusei smiled as he tucked his hand under Judai’s face to cup it.

“I’m getting used to seeing you when I wake up,” Judai mumbled.

“Is it a good thing?”

Judai smiled sleepily, and Yusei couldn’t help but match the expression.

“Real good,” Judai said.  He reached groggily for Yusei, cupping his face back, his fingers trailing soft, ghost touches down Yusei’s marker and making tiny electrical sparks go off in Yusei’s brain.

Despite everything, in this quiet moment, Yusei felt calm.

He leaned forward to plant a brief kiss on Judai’s lips.  He meant to pull away after, but Judai’s hand slid off of his cheek and onto the back of his neck, holding him there for a little longer, his tongue briefly flicking between Yusei’s teeth.

The kiss lasted longer than the ones before—Yusei didn’t want it to be over when it ended, his eyes lingering on Judai’s lips before rising up to find his eyes.  With the way the light filtered through the blinds, his brown eyes were set alight to an almost caramel gold color, sending a light shiver down Yusei’s spine.

“I love you,” Judai mumbled, his voice sounding choked.  There were some tears in his eyes now, and Yusei wondered if he was starting to wake up and remember all of their stresses.  In an attempt to calm him, Yusei slid his head across the pillow to touch his forehead to Judai’s.

“I love you too,” he said.

Judai closed his eyes and pressed his head against Yusei’s.  For a moment, Yusei closed his eyes too, and tried to breathe in the warmth and scent of Judai beside him, imprint it on his mind.  This little bubble of peace felt like eternity for a few brief, beautiful moments.

Then Judai’s eyes opened, and he looked awake again, his lips parting as he breathed in a long, steadying breath.  His hand was still on the back of Yusei’s neck, and it moved up to start to tangle with his hair, stroking it gently.  Yusei gasped in spite of himself at the touch, and Judai blinked.  His lips twitched in almost a smile and his fingers stroked a little more at that spot on the nape of Yusei’s neck, making Yusei blush at how sensitive he was to being touched.

Yusei thought for a moment that Judai might tease him a bit more, but eventually, the smile faded, and Judai just looked a little lost again.  Yusei’s lips parted, and he moved his hand from Judai’s cheek to the side of his hair, stroking it gently.

“You okay?” he whispered.

Judai grimaced.

“I can’t stop thinking.”

Yusei let his eyes fall to the pillow beside him.

“…Me neither.”

For a moment, they both just laid there, their hands tangled in each other’s hair, breathing.

“We have to try and get Lua back as soon as possible,” Judai said.  “But I don’t know where he is…or even where to start looking.”

Yusei nodded, his forehead bumping with Judai’s.  They laid there for a few quiet moments again.

“I’m—I’m going to pull us out of the WRGP,” Yusei mumbled.

Judai blinked.

“What—why?”

“We don’t have time,” Yusei said.  “And…and something’s just wrong with it.  We can’t keep splitting our attention like this.  Besides…Fujiwara was trying to get us knocked out or disqualified before, right?  Maybe whatever happens in the future that he’s trying to avoid is because we’re in the tournament.”

Judai nodded slowly.

“So you’re saying…you want to remove extra factors,” he said.

“We can focus on saving Lua and facing off with Yliaster, without having our attention divided,” Yusei said.

Judai licked his lips.  He looked uncertain but Yusei thought he was starting to agree.  Yusei had already thought about it.  It had been one of the things that kept him awake.  There was no point in continuing the charade.  He’d submit a drop form as soon as they got up, he’d cite team injuries as a reason for not continuing.  There were enough rumors and enough truth to that already anyway, what with Crow, Jack, _and_ Aki all having been temporarily put out of commission at different times.  It wouldn’t be out of the question for them to pull out, no one could fault them for it after what bad luck they were seeming to have from the outside.

Sure, it would _hurt_ a little…but Yusei would rather try again later with less world-threatening shit on the brain.

Yusei opened his mouth to finish confirming his statement, but he didn’t have a chance to let the words out, because there was a sudden, nervous rapping on the door.

Judai sat up straight in bed immediately, eyes fixed on the door like he was a prey animal ready to pounce.  But when the door opened, it was only Bruno, wide eyes peering through the gap.

“Oh good, you’re both here,” he said.  “Listen—you need to see this.”

*    *    *

The kitchen was silent except for the faint, nervous tapping of Jack’s foot on the floor.  Jack and Aki were the only other two in the kitchen as Bruno led Yusei and Judai downstairs, both of them looking up at the trio taking the stairs a few at a time.

“What’s wrong?” Judai said, his heart thumping in his chest.  What was it now?  “Why are you the only ones here?”

“I—I wasn’t sure who else I should wake up,” Bruno said.  “Jack and Aki were already awake, and I thought Judai should probably see this…”

“Bruno couldn’t sleep,” Aki said.  “It was my watch, and Jack was sleeping on the couch.  He woke up when Bruno’s video started playing too loud.”

Jack’s lip curled, but he didn’t say anything.

“Video?” said Yusei.

Bruno licked his lips.  He opened his mouth, and then shook his head.

“You should just see.”

He fumbled towards the kitchen table, where his laptop was resting.  There was a black, blurred freeze frame on the screen right now that Judai quite parse the shapes of.  Bruno flopped into the seat in front of the screen, glanced over his shoulder to see if the other four were gathering around, and then hit play.

For a moment, the screen only buzzed slightly, static flying briefly across the black.  After a few breaths, though, Judai realized that it wasn’t completely dark inside.  There were…there were people.  Four people, he counted.  They were barely more than lumps in the dark, but he could catch the edges of white from some far away light source, outlining them ever so slightly.  He licked his lips and squinted, putting his hand on the back of Bruno’s chair to lean in and see if he could come up with anything else.  It was no good—he had a sense of size, and shape, but no details.  Upon further inspection, all four of them seemed to be clad in cloaks, the hoods covering their faces.  All he could tell were their heights and basic shapes—the main three all sat on one level in size order, one incredibly huge shape, one tall, thin shape, and one tiny shape, which was moving slightly as though kicking its legs back and forth.

On the level above those three, there was one average shaped lump.  Something about it seemed…wrong, Judai realized.  Like…like the darkness was pinching in around it.

After what felt like ages, a voice finally emanated from the screen.

“Team 5D’s,” a deep voice that seemed to come from the large shape rumbled.

“This is about the time where you decide that you don’t want to be in the tournament anymore,” said the long, thin shape.

Judai heard Yusei’s breath catch in his throat, and Judai’s throat closed up too.  How…how did they…

“But we’re not gonna let you do that!” a thin, young voice said with an annoying laugh at the end of his sentence.  “You gotta keep fighting us!”

“Bullshit,” Jack said through grit teeth.  “They want us to continue this farce??  How are they going to make us?”

“They don’t have Lua anymore,” Aki said.  “They have no leverage.”

Judai could only listen, his heart thumping in his chest.  Who were these people?  Yliaster?  What were they after?

A light turned on somewhere behind all of the shapes, vaguely illuminating their white cloaks, but leaving their fronts still in shadow.  That didn’t stop Judai from recognizing two of them: the long thin shape was Placido, the man that they had fought during the Ghost swarm.  And the small one was Luciano, the boy who had kidnapped Lua.

“They _are_ Yliaster,” he muttered.  “Are these…the leaders…?”

The light behind them began to glow in a pattern.  It was…something like…a giant circuit…

“This machine is called the Circuit,” the large man rumbled.  “It is connected to your city by a network.  If activated now, its latent power could disintegrate the entire city.”

Judai’s eyes flickered to Yusei, and he saw Yusei staring intently at the machine, his lips moving as though mumbling equations to himself.

“Is it a bluff?” Judai said.

Yusei bit his lip.

“Hard to tell.  That machine…it’s somewhat beyond my knowledge but—but it’s definitely dangerous.  Maybe even…nuclear level dangerous.”

He shuddered, and Judai knew that it was bad.

“It’s not a bluff,” Bruno said suddenly.  “That machine can do what they say it does.”

“You can tell?”

“It looks similar to some theoretical blueprints I’ve seen before,” Bruno said, his voice hedged and uncertain.  “I—I’ll have to double check.”

Judai tightened his jaw and returned his attention to the screen.

“If you show any signs of dropping out of the tournament or failing to show up to your duels, we will activate the machine and take the entire city out at once,” Placido said, his voice sounding as though he were smirking.

“What the hell for?” said Jack.  “Why do they want us to fight with them?”

“We’ll see you in the finals, losers,” Luciano laughed.  “Unless you want us to blow up the city!”

The fourth shadow on the higher level hadn’t spoken, or even moved.  Judai was starting to wonder if it was a person at all, or if it was just some kind of statue.

But then it moved, ever so slightly, hood shifting, and Judai felt something in him lodge up and twist.  He broke out into a cold sweat as he caught a flicker of prismatic light under the cloak’s hood and realized—

“T-that thing is—that _thing_ is the Light of Destruction,” he said, his voice choked.

“It’s what?” Yusei said.

Judai could barely breathe.  Even through the screen he could feel that horrible, cold slithering of cold white light, so opposite of himself, it felt like it was going to choke him out, erase him, blind him until there was nothing left of himself.

It was only Yusei grabbing his elbow that got him to keep his feet.  He couldn’t tear his eyes away from that shadow—that _light_.  He felt like he was going to choke.  Seeing it in the Meklords as a power source had been one thing, but seeing it like _this_ …like some human-like personification of the light itself.  It reminded him of that day he had faced Saiou possessed by the Light, that cold slimy crawling feeling that he had tried so hard to pretend he couldn’t feel since it seemed like no one else did.

Only this was worse.  It wasn’t like the Light possessing something…it was like the Light actually standing there in front of him in its true form, and even through the screen Judai felt like screaming and running away like a rabbit from a natural predator.

A thin voice emanated from inside the cloak that housed the Light of Destruction, and Judai felt another spike of uncharacteristic panic, his Gentle Darkness swirling inside him defensively.

“We do not want to be your enemies,” the soft voice said. If Judai hadn’t been panicking from the knowledge that the Light itself was talking to him, he would have thought the voice sounded calming and kind.  “I wish that this could be some other way.”

“Like hell you do,” Jack muttered.

Judai tried to focus on Yusei’s hand, tight on his elbow.  Yusei dragged him gently closer to him, wrapping his arms around his waist to comfort him, and Judai tried to think clearly.

“Please meet us in the finals,” the soft voice said.  “You will learn of our souls through dueling.  I hope you will understand.  We do not want to be your enemies.  We only want the same thing—the safety of this world.”

The figure inclined its head.

“We will see you in the finals.”

The screen flickered, and then it went full black.

Silence filled the room for a long, long moment.  Judai’s heart rate took what felt like ages to calm down, and he licked his dry lips.  Yusei held him a little tighter, and Judai leaned up against him, trying to calm down by focusing on Yusei’s warm bulk holding him close.  He put his hands on top of Yusei’s and squeezed.

“I guess…we can’t drop out,” Yusei said, sounding distant.  “We can’t risk it.”

“Yusei,” Jack said, almost snarling.

Yusei shook his head.

“I’m sorry, Jack, I don’t like it either.  But…but maybe they’re right.  We can finish this in the tournament.  Once and for all.”

“But why do they want to do that?” Aki said.  “Why are they so determined for us to fight?  Why not just destroy the City now?”

“Rebalancing,” Judai mumbled.  “Their goal is the Rebalancing.”

He looked sidelong at Jack.

“Didn’t Carly say that Yusei and I were somehow parts of Yliaster’s plan?” he said.  “That we were almost caught by them because they wanted to use us for that Rebalancing?”

Jack looked a bit white, but he nodded slowly.

Judai bit his lip.  It was just…it was too confusing.  Was Yliaster planning on using the tournament to collect something from him and Yusei?  To distract them so that they could try and catch the two of them again?  What did they want from them, and how could Judai and Yusei be a part of their plans?

His head was going in circle after circle and he didn’t know how to make it stop.

Luckily, something distracted him—a light tapping on the door up the stairs.

All of them froze.  Judai exchanged glances with the others.  He didn’t sense anything out of the ordinary, but…

“H-hello?” a small voice called from the other side of the door.  “Sorry, I know it’s early but uh…is this where Fudo Yusei lives…?”

Judai glanced over his shoulder at Yusei.  Yusei shrugged, looking as confused as Judai felt.  He released Judai and headed towards the door.

“Wait,” Judai said.  “We don’t know what’s out there.”

Yusei hesitated.  The light knocking came again.

“Just come with me then,” he said, holding out his hand.

Judai immediately took it, clinging to his hand as they walked across the room and up the stairs.  Judai tensed while Yusei unlocked and pulled open the door.

The young man standing on their doorstep didn’t look dangerous, but Judai was in a mood where he didn’t feel safe about anything.  The young man ran a hand through his short brown hair, jumping at the sight of the door opening.  For a second, he just stared with his mouth open at Yusei, eyes bulging slightly.

“Yes,” Yusei said.  “This is where I live.  Can we help you?”

The man seemed to remember himself then, and he bit his lip, looking nervous.

“Okay, please just listen,” he said, holding his hands up.  “This is going to sound absolutely crazy, and I swear I’m not making it up just cause I’m some fanboy or something.”

“I think I can handle a little bit of crazy,” Yusei said, and it was so deadpan that Judai _almost_ laughed out loud.

“My name is Yamashita Taro,” he said. “And, uh…I’ve started hearing this voice that’s calling out for help—and a lot of the time, it’s calling for, uh, you.”

He looked nervous, ready to flinch, as though he assumed that they were about to start laughing at him or something.  Judai kind of understood—to anyone else, it would sound absolutely insane.

“The voice keeps saying that ‘it’s Lua’,” Taro said, talking quickly as though to get it out as fast as possible.  “And I thought it was a dream, but I’m hearing it _constantly_ now and—”

Judai and Yusei exchanged glances.  Judai’s throat was dry.

“Lua can call across dimensions,” Judai said.

“But why would he reach someone he doesn’t know before reaching Luka?”

“He could be anywhere—anything could be interfering with this voice.  But that means—”

Taro was staring at the both of them with his mouth hanging slightly open.  Clearly, this had not been the reaction he was expecting.

Judai reached across the threshold and grabbed Taro’s hand.

“Yamashita Taro, right?” he said.  “Listen—you’re not crazy, but you’re gonna think we are in a minute.  Please come in—you’re the exact kind of break we’ve been looking for.”

 


	28. Taurus

Taro was white in the face by the time that they finished giving him a very, very abridged explanation of what was happening.

He just stared at nothing for a very, very long time, his mouth hanging open and his hands laying limp in his lap on the other side of the kitchen table.

Yusei sent Judai a glance.  Maybe they had overdone it with the explanation.

No one else was yet awake; it was still early.  The morning filtered through the windows, giving the room a light, yellow-gold glow.  Jack and Aki stood a bit to the side, with Yusei and Judai on the opposite side of the table from Taro.  Yusei almost felt like they were conducting an interview.

Taro finally seemed to come back to life, however, and he swallowed.

“So,” he said.  “All that stuff on the news about the Signers and that…evil god that almost ate the city…that was all real?”

“Yes,” Yusei said, nodding.

“And Yoshi thought it was a publicity stunt,” Taro said, shaking his head slowly.

“I get that we’re not making much sense, but I’m sure you’re dealing with that enough yourself with that voice in your head,” Judai said.

Taro nodded.

“I…I feel like I shouldn’t believe you, but I do.  I’m the one that came to you, after all, you don’t have much reason to come up with something this complicated to humor me…”

He rubbed the back of his neck, licking his lips.

“So this…Yliaster.  They want to try and save the world, but they’re destroying it instead?”

“That’s what we think, anyway,” Judai said.  “Can’t tell if they’re evil, stupid, or just misguided.”

“Probably all three,” said Aki.

“Probably all three,” Judai agreed.  “But for now…”

Yusei heard a light footstep on the stairs, and glanced up.  Johan stood at the top, with Luka clinging to his shirt.  Johan yawned, and after a beat, a tired looking Crow appeared behind him.

“What’s all the commotion?” Johan said.

Judai gestured across the table.

“This is Yamashita Taro,” he said.  “Taro-san, this is Johan Andersen, Crow Hogan, and Luka.”

Taro blinked and his lips parted.  Yusei thought he must have recognized the name Luka as being similar to Lua.

“The voice in your head is our friend,” Yusei said.  “His soul is…lost.  He’s Luka’s brother.”

Luka immediately looked wide-awake.  She released Johan’s shirt and hurtled down the stairs.  She was so fast that her socks briefly slid at the bottom and she overshot, but she regained her composure and stumbled to the table, hitting against it with her chest and grabbing it.

“Lua!” she said, eyes wide.  “You know where Lua is??”

Taro held up his hands, wincing.

“I—I don’t know,” he said.

“Lua’s voice is reaching him somehow,” Yusei said.  He put a soothing hand on Luka’s shoulder, drawing her close.  “This might be a way to find out where he is in the spirit world.”

Luka looked like she was about to cry, but she steeled her face, leaning into Yusei’s grip.  He rubbed her shoulder softly.

“What?  This guy can hear Lua?” Crow said, hopping down the last stair.  “How do we know?”

“Well, we don’t, but something made him come to us,” Judai said.

“I _do_ hear something,” Taro said.  “He’s been quiet for a bit but…”

“Quiet?” Luka said, her voice cracking.

“He’ll be fine,” Judai said soothingly.  “We’re going to find him.”

“In fact, this is going to work out _perfectly_ ,” Johan said.

All of them looked at him.  His face was shining with a bright excitement, and it was so relieving to see someone feeling good about something that Yusei felt his shoulders slump with absolute relief.  Johan seemed to know what to do.

“You have a plan?” Judai said.

“Yeah,” Johan said.  “Lua’s power is to call across dimensions—but depending on where he is, his voice can get thrown around.  If this young man can hear him, that means that one of Yamashita-san’s close monsters is nearby Lua.  The voice is being filtered through that monster, through the door in the card, and into Yamashita-san.”

Johan smiled at Taro, who blinked and ducked his eyes.

“You must be very close with your monsters for this to even be possible,” he said.

“T-thanks?” Taro said.  He blushed a little, but it was like he didn’t know how to react to that kind of compliment.  “They always seemed kind of alive to me.  Jinbei and Yoshi sometimes teased me for it.”

Johan nodded.  He walked around the table and leaned across it beside Taro.

“Can I see some of your cards?  Are there any that you had any gut feelings towards when you first heard the voice?”

Taro blinked.  His lips parted.  Then he dug quickly into his pocket, withdrawing the cards and flipping through them quickly.  Yusei couldn’t quite see, but noticed an awful lot of normal colored monster cards.  Was that his deck?

“This one!” he said.  He slid out one card and placed it on the table.  “I felt like…I don’t know, like he was trying to tell me something last night.”

Yusei leaned over along with Judai and the others to see it.  Kageningen—just an ordinary normal monster card.  The art was a tad eerie, but otherwise it looked normal.

Johan picked up the card, turning it over in his fingers.

Then he nodded.

“I’m getting a thread,” he said. “Yamashita-san, you have some very noble monsters.  It seems that Kageningen is looking after Lua.”

Luka let out a soft, strangled cry of relief, practically crashing against Yusei.  He held her with both arms, drawing her into a hug.  His own shoulders slumped with relief—Lua was still out there, and he was still alive.

“Can you see or sense him?” Judai said, standing up.

Johan shook his head.

“All I can tell is that Kageningen’s thread and Lua’s crossed over at least once, but the connection is very faint,” he said.  “It’s hard to tell if Kageningen is still near Lua…we’ll have to go in ourselves and track him down.”

Immediately, Luka struggled out of Yusei’s grip, practically running around the table and skidding to a stop in front of Johan.

“I’m going,” she said.

Yusei started to stand up—no, he didn’t want her to go, it was dangerous, they had already lost Lua—

“I was already going to say that,” Judai said, before Yusei could say anything.  “You need to go.”

Yusei shot him a look, but Judai wasn’t looking at him.

“We’ve already lost Lua,” he said.  “I’m not sending Luka out there too.”

“She won’t be alone; I’m going with her,” Johan said.  “No, not you, Judai, sit down.  You’re needed here, helping Yusei take care of everyone.”

Judai opened his mouth to protest.  Yusei started to protest too, for other reasons, but Johan just gave both of them a look.

“Listen,” he said.  “I believe in both of you.”

He put a hand on Luka’s shoulder.

“She’s not only a Signer, just like you, Yusei, but she has an incredible amount of spirit intuition and a psychological bond with her brother.  She’s the most clear choice for this kind of mission.”

He somehow seemed to be able to meet both Judai and Yusei’s eyes at the same time.

“I believe in you two, that you can take care of things here.  So believe in me, and believe in Luka. We’ll bring Lua home.”

Yusei’s chest squeezed.  He looked down at Luka.  She stared back at him with all the calm fury her small body seemed to be able to muster.

His shoulders slumped.

“Be careful,” he said.

Luka’s face broke out into a huge smile.  She bolted around the table and threw her arms around Yusei, briefly squeezing the air out of him.

“I’ll bring him home and I’ll come home too,” she said.  “I promise.”

He wrapped his arms around her, too, and tried to hold back on how tightly he wanted to hug her.  His eyes lifted to Johan.  Johan only smiled and nodded.  _I’ll take care of her_ , he was saying.

Judai silently reached for Yusei’s hand, and Yusei lifted one arm off of Luka to grab it back.

“Meanwhile,” he said.  “We have to make sure we win our next match, then, I guess…and make it to the finals.”

“Who are we even against?” Aki said.

Taro let out the tiniest cough, and everyone looked at him.  He flushed.

“About that,” he said.  “I was…actually going to say.  I’m from Team Taiyou.  We’re your next opponents in the tournament, the one you said that you needed to get to the finals of to save the world.”

For a second, everyone was silent.  Taro squirmed in his seat a bit.

“I was…gonna say.  Um.  Jinbei and Yoshi almost definitely won’t understand but—but if this is that important, I’ll…I can throw the duel.  Make sure you guys get to the finals.”

Yusei released Luka, his shoulders straightening.

“Absolutely not,” he said.

“But—”

“It’s not that I don’t appreciate the offer,” Yusei said, his tone softening.  “But no.  I couldn’t accept that—even without knowing that Yliaster would probably take action against us if they found out you were in on helping us.”

Taro looked down at his knees.

“But this is the fate of the world you’re kind of telling me about,” he said.  “You’re telling me to fight like normal?”

“That’s exactly what I’m asking,” Yusei said.  “Yamashita-san.”

He hesitated, and then leaned over the table, moving Luka gently aside so that he could reach one hand towards Taro.

“We owe you for helping us find Lua,” he said. “Let us repay you by giving you a good, fair duel.  I want to be able to face you for real, despite all of this.”

Taro’s lips parted.  Then he smiled, blushing slightly, and accepted Yusei’s handshake as he stood up.

“Damn,” he said. “You’re as cool in person as I always thought you’d be.”

He licked his lips.

“Do you…need any more help from me?  I’ve got a little bit of time before Yoshi and Jinbei realize I’m gone.”

“If you could help us for a bit, I need your help in establishing a connection with the plane that Lua is on,” Johan said.

“Of course,” Taro said, sliding out from between his chair and the table.  Johan saluted towards Judai and Yusei with two fingers, then he beckoned to Luka, and the pair of them walked towards the garage with Taro.

Crow wandered over, looking off after them.

“Do you think this is gonna work?” he said.  “And what’s this about us still being in this goddamn tournament?”

Yusei grimaced.

“Let’s get the others up, and get everyone up to speed,” he said.  “And as for whether this is going to work…”

Judai met Yusei’s eyes and grimaced back at him.

“We can only hope,” he said. “As fucking always.”

*    *    *

Bruno played the video again.

_“We do not want to be your enemies.”_

He hit pause.  Rewind.  Played it again.

_“We do not want to be your enemies.”_

He hit rewind again, sending it to the beginning of the video where the other three started talking.  There were three of them…large, thin, and tiny.  They were familiar.  It wasn’t just that he had seen them before, with the others but…

The room was turning white again.

“Go away,” he whispered, putting his hands over his temples.  _“Please.”_

It was too late.  Everything was white and he was sitting in a vast expanse of empty space again.  It was there, too.  Sitting next to him, perched in the air where the desk had been moments ago which was now only white.  He tried not to look at it.

“Why are you doing this to me?”

_“. …. …”_

“Why do you need _me?_ ”

_“…… …. .. …”_

“Get out of my head,” Bruno groaned, pressing the heels of his hands into his forehead.  “I didn’t want this.  I’m…I’m not supposed to be here, am I?”

It put a hand on his shoulder, but it was cold and static-y and Bruno flinched, shooting to his feet and stumbling back.

“I know them,” he said, his voice cracking.  “I _know_ them.”

Them—the four in the video.  His heart _ached_ when he had seen it appear in his inbox.  He was glad that no one had asked him why it was sent to him and not to anyone else.  He didn’t want to talk about the e-mail that had come with it, or the subject line that had been labeled _To Antinomy._   Antinomy—that _name_.  It made his chest squeeze and this throat tighten and a light crackling sound pass between his ears that didn’t seem quite normal—or human.

The e-mail itself had been little more than garbled gibberish, but there had been code inside.  Part of that code had led to the video.  The rest of it…the rest of it, Bruno wasn’t sure.

 _That Circuit is not complete_ , he thought.  _It can’t destroy the city.  It was a bluff._

And,

_So why did I say it wasn’t?_

“I’m falling apart and it’s because of _you,_ ” he hissed.  “You’re the one who took my memories, aren’t you?”

It did not reply.  It only stared at him and blinked with its huge, white eyes.

“Why?” he said, his voice cracking.  “Why?  I’m—I’m supposed to be over there, aren’t I?  I’m supposed to be on the other side of that screen, with those four.  So why am I here?  And why can’t I remember??”

It continued to stare.  Then it hopped lightly from the space where the desk should be, standing up in front of him.  Its vaguely human shape barely reached his collarbone, but he still felt so small in front of it.

It reached up with one cold, white hand, and touched the side of his temple.

He immediately felt like he was going to collapse, but somehow, he remained standing.  His brain roared with images, and all of them were of—

 _Yusei_.

He saw Yusei smiling at him, saw Yusei’s hands flickering over a keyboard, saw Yusei laughing at something, saw the glimpse of a tear that Yusei was trying to hide, Yusei fiddling with a broken circuit board, Yusei punching his desk in anger and hissing at the pain.  These didn’t look like all things he had seen while living with Yusei—some of them looked like images that he had never seen before, at least not in his memory.

_D-did I know Yusei before I lost my memories?? But then why wouldn’t he have said anything?_

The being released him, and now his legs gave out, causing him to crumple to the floor.  His body trembled badly, as though he had just run a marathon, and he couldn’t force any strength into him.

_“… …. .. …. …, …..?”_

Bruno felt tears growing in the corners of his eyes.  Regardless of not being able to remember when exactly he had seen all those memories of Yusei, he felt his heart aching.  Yusei had agreed to let him stay with them even though he had no idea who Bruno was.  He was kind and quiet and good with machines, and he and Bruno had worked on so many projects together already.  He could remember that excited, barely contained glimmer in Yusei’s eye when they had hit on a perfect set of code to try for their engine program.

“Yes,” he mumbled in response to its question.  “I do want to help him.  But I just…I wish I knew _why_ …why is he so important?  We haven’t known each other for long at all.”

He looked up at the white creature desperately.

“Who are you?” he asked.  “And what memories have you taken from me?  And why?”

It didn’t answer.  And he opened his eyes two minutes later to find himself asleep on his own keyboard, the white space vanished.


	29. Vela

He wasn't by the ocean anymore, at least, but he wondered if this place was any better.

Lua licked his lips, looking nervously out at the silent black forest that stretched out before him. Behind him, the stark cliffs and gray beach remained, and he felt like he could still feel the ocean leering at his back. It had taken him what felt like hours to find a stretch of cliff without worm holes in it, and a long time more climbing up the cliffs to get to the top. He was still winded. For just being a soul at the moment, everything still felt really exhausting, like he was still in a solid body.

Where was he even trying to go...? He had no idea. Maybe he should just be staying put, hoping that staying in one place would make it easier for the others to find him.

But it was so quiet....so oppressively quiet....he wanted to scream. He could hear his heart rushing in his ears, the silence ringing painfully. Sitting in one place and just waiting for help he didn't know would even come was far more frightening than anything else.

“I have to find a friendly spirit somewhere, right?” he mumbled to himself. “E-eventually.”

His voice sounded weird in the quiet, so he shut up.

He took a quick look around again. He kept feeling as though he felt someone looking at him, or worse, kept thinking he heard the sound of something following him—only to find that there was nothing behind him at all. He didn't know whether to be afraid or not...something had rescued him from that worm, but he didn't know what. Maybe he had already found a friendly spirit? He didn't know why it wasn't showing itself, though.

“Is anyone there?” he whispered, just so that he wouldn't make his voice echo in the silence.

There was, of course, no answer.

He licked his lips again. He shook his head. There was nothing for it. He had to pretend to be brave, and get going again. He had to find...something, right?

He squared his shoulders, rolled his fists up, and clenched his jaw, before marching into the woods.

Immediately, the hush grew closer, like a muffled batch of cotton pressed around his head. His footsteps felt painfully loud where they scraped over roots and leaves, and he winced at every tiny sound. But nothing else moved. There was no wind, no animals scrabbling in the brush, not a single movement anywhere to be seen. What _was_ this place? Was there nothing in the whole world here?

_If only I knew how to get to another world from here...if only Luka could hear me from here..._

He was getting so sleepy....was it okay if he just sat down for a little bit...?

His drooping eyes, however, immediately flew open when he saw them—three glowing eyes, peering at him from a bush.

His pretending to be brave act instantly crumbled, as he squeaked, leaping back, arms wheeling, and tripped on a root. He went down in a tangle of limbs and his head struck hard against a root.

For a moment, lights flared in front of his eyes and he could only lay there, sprawled and spread eagled and staring at the motionless black leaves canopied overhead. His head spun. It took him precious moments to force himself past the dizziness and pain to sit up again.

The three glowing eyes had vanished. He hadn't heard anything...where did it go?

Nervous as he rubbed his head, he looked around. His vision was blurred with the pained, terrified tears. He—he couldn't do this...he was so scared...

“Go away,” he mumbled. “P-please...everyone...go away—”

He heard a soft fwump and almost screamed. He jerked himself to the side as he whipped his head around and—

Three big eyes blinked at him, all of them out of sync with each other. Red slit pupils dilated slightly in yellow orbs as they considered him. It...it was small, Lua realized after his initial terror vanished. It would barely reach his knees if he stood. It was round, and fluffy...a little like a Kuriboh with it's spindly green fingers and toes. It was orange, though, with splotches of black against its fur. Actually, now that Lua's heart was starting to slow, he thought that it was actually familiar...

“Y-you're Sangan, aren't you?” he said.

The creature blinked again, each eye blinking one at a time in almost a wave motion. Then it hissed softly. It took Lua a moment to parse the words out of the sounds.

“Tiny,” Sangan hissed. “Tiny Heart. What is tiny Heart doing here?”

Lua blinked.

“H-heart?” he said. “I don't know what you're talking about.”

Sangan hopped forward until it was almost sitting in Lua's lap, and Lua flinched back. The creature leaned forward into Lua's face, blinking at him again. Then it leaned back, shaking its head.

“Much tiny,” it said. “Much tiny than expected.”

Sangan didn't _look_ very dangerous, and from what Lua remembered, it was only a thousand attack monster, however, with every word, Lua become very aware of how sharp its teeth looked.

“I'm just trying to find my way home,” he said, eyes filling with tears. “I don't know what you're trying to tell me.”

And then he heard another faint hiss behind him, and when he turned around, he saw—he saw his own shadow stretching, crawling up a tree beside him and turning with glowing yellow eyes.

“ _Go away,”_ Lua's shadow hissed. _“Not welcome here.”_

Sangan growled and chattered even as Lua's heart pretty much stopped.

“Kageningen,” Sangan said. “Kageningen. Why with Heart?”

“ _Go_ away _,”_ Lua's shadow insisted.

Sangan skittered back slightly, eyes narrowing.

“Kageningen weak,” it said. “Much weak.”

“ _Strong enough,”_ Lua's shadow or, perhaps, Kageningen, said.

Lua's eyes bubbled with tears. What was happening? He edged backward on his butt as the shadow and Sangan continued to bicker softly. He eased himself to his feet, walking backwards slowly. It was weird to see that his shadow did not come with him, weirder still to see it with glowing eyes that narrowed and emoted as it argued with Sangan, but he didn't—he didn't want to stay here.

He turned and ran.

He thought he heard a faint hiss and a squeal.

“ _Heart!”_ Kageningen shouted. _“Heart! Wait!”_

Lua didn't wait. He just wanted to go _home!!_

He leaped over roots and ducked under branches, crashing through undergrowth. He had no idea where he was going but he just wanted to be far, far, FAR away—

He stumbled as his foot caught on branch, and he squealed as he went face first to the ground. Groaning, he sat up, brushing leaves out of his eyes.

The ground shifted slightly, wriggling. That…that was not a branch he had just tripped over.

Slowly, slowly, he lifted his eyes upwards.

For a moment, it just looked like a lumpy fallen tree, slouching over, most of its bark scraped away so that it looked rough and pale. It was as washed out and gray as the world around it, so it didn’t stick out right away. But then it moved—and Lua realized that it was much squishier than he had thought, and the arched appendages that spread around it were not roots, but tentacles with suckers down their bottom edges, and the thing was turning slowly, making heavy sniffing and panting sounds. A mouth split open near the bottom of the creature, crooked, ragged teeth slick with drool. Another mouth opened along one of the tentacles, and then two, three more along the bulbous top that could have been a torso shape—where a face could have or should have been, yet another mouth opened, drooling as its spindly arms uncurled from it with massive, bony hands.

Drool slid out of each of its mouths as it made more sniffing noises. Lua did not move—did not breathe. He had tripped over one of the tentacles, and he was in the middle of some of them, now, all draped on top of each other. They were starting to slid sinuously against each other like a snake, the creature waking slowly. Oh god, oh god, oh god…

He pressed his hands to his mouth to keep the sound of his breath as silently as possible. C-could it hear? Could it see? It made sounds like it was smelling, but it didn’t have a nose…just…just a lot of mouths.

A soft growl rose up from somewhere inside the creature.

“ _Where is it?”_

None of its mouths that Lua could see moved, but there was no question that it was speaking—the sound rattled in Lua’s throat, made him dizzy and feel like he wanted to throw up.

“ _Where is it? Delicious little heart…where is it?”_

Lua had to get away. He had to get away.

He couldn’t move. Oh god, he was so scared, he couldn’t move.

The tentacles slid around him, almost touching him—he knew that if it could feel him, it would grab him instantly. He scootched very carefully out of range of the nearest tentacle so that it wouldn’t brush against him, hoping that it really couldn’t hear.

“ _Where_ is _it?”_ the creature whined. _“So hot…so bright…I want to eat it…want to eat the last light…”_

A cold hand grabbed Lua’s elbow and it took everything he had not to scream, yelping muffled into his palms. He looked down quickly to see his own shadow holding him, yellow eyes glowing at him from the ground.

The shadow turned sideways so that he could see the face in profile, raising its other hand up to its lips. Then it beckoned, tugging gently. Lua looked up to see that there was a space between the tentacles. He could get out.

Slowly, slowly, he got himself to his feet, eyes fixed on the creature. It was turning around slowly, back and forth as it breathed heavily. M-maybe it could smell with its mouths.

His shadow moved ahead of him as he carefully, one step at a time, made his way free of the tangle of tentacles. His heart hammered in his chest—any minute now. Any minute it would turn around and sense him and he’d feel the tentacle wrapping around his chest, the suckers grabbing hold of him—

He kept his eyes on the glowing eyed shadow under his feet and kept walking, turning when the shadow did. He didn’t know how long they were walking before his shadow finally stopped, crawling up the side of a tree so that it could look at him.

Lua’s knees shook.

“Is it gone?” he whispered.

“ _Not gone. But we gone,”_ the shadow said.

Lua’s eyes bubbled with tears. He was scared. He was scared of the shadow, too, but…but it seemed to have saved him. The glowing yellow eyes blinked at him. He rubbed his own eyes quickly.

“Y-you saved me,” he mumbled. “Um…thank you.”

“ _Must protect Heart,”_ it said, nodding sagely.

“What…what does that mean?”

The shadow didn’t respond to that,

“ _Am Kageningen,”_ it said.

“Um…nice to meet you,” he said. “I’m Lua.”

The shadow nodded. Lua glanced back the way they had come—everything in this woods looked the same, but he didn’t see that creature in the distance anymore.

“What…what was that thing?”

“ _Outer Entity,”_ Kageningen said. _“Is called Nyarla.”_

Lua had never heard of such a Duel Monster before, and he shuddered. He would had to have to see something like that on the other side of a duel field.

“ _No worry,”_ Kageningen said. _“Is zero attack.”_

That thing?? Really?? Lua somehow doubted that attack points really made too much of a difference once everything was real. He swallowed.

“So…where are we?”

“ _Is Outlands,”_ Kageningen said. _“Is very far from home.”_

It tilted its head at him.

“ _Will help,”_ Kageningen said. _“If trust.”_

Lua had…no reason not to trust the strange little shadow creature, he supposed. It had saved his life twice now—three times if you counted the thing with Sangan, though Lua wondered if he had _really_ been in danger then. He had no idea where he was or what he was doing, and he didn’t know why everything wanted to eat or help him or why they were calling him the “Heart.”

Maybe he should ask.

“Why did…um…why do you and that thing call me the Heart?”

Kageningen blinked.

“ _Is you,”_ it said.

“I know that, but what does that mean? Why did that thing want to eat me?”

“ _Madness,”_ Kageningen said, nodding. _“Is mad. Light and Shadow, both gone mad. Is happening slow. But still mad. Madness infects us. Higher ones first. Mad ones want to eat what’s not mad yet.”_

“It…it wants to eat me because…it’s crazy?” Lua said. Kageningen nodded, but Lua didn’t really understand the connection. Well…maybe he could figure it out later. “Um, what about you? Why are you helping me?”

Kageningen's outline wrinkled, as though it were shuddering.

“ _Want you to save us.”_

Lua's lips parted. Save them? From what?? He couldn't save anyone...he could barely take care of himself.

“I...I don't know if I can do that,” he said. “But...uh...I have some friends who are really good at that kind of thing. Do you think you could help me find my way back to them? I'll definitely make sure they can help.”

Kageningen nodded very quickly.

“ _Know safe place. Follow Kageningen.”_

It slid off of the tree and began to slither forward along the ground. Lua hurried to follow. This could probably be a way for Kageningen to get to eat him itself, he thought, but…he was kind of out of options.

He’d have to trust that Kageningen really did want to help him.

* * *

The stands roared. Judai tensed, his hands twisting into his pants. It was taking everything he had to remain calm, but with the sound of all these people, it was harder than ever. He stared out at the track, across the way to where Team Taiyou was prepping their D-Wheels. Taro looked up and even from that distance, he seemed to notice that Judai was looking at him. He half smiled, raising a hand. Judai raised one back. His heart thrummed. He hoped Taro would keep his promise, and fight hard...he had no doubt that Yusei and the others could win, but if Taro tried to throw the duel for them, Yliaster could possibly retaliate...Judai hated to think about Team Taiyou getting involved if they didn't have to.

 _I feel bad,_ he thought, grimacing. _From what I can tell, they're just small town kids trying to make it big for once. They just had to get involved with a tournament like this._

He looked up, then, at the sound of boots scraping on the ground. Yusei stood over him, holding his helmet in both hands. His dark eyes were clouded with worry—Judai hated that look. Yusei should be smiling...he deserved to smile more.

“You all right?” Yusei asked quietly.

“I should be asking you that,” Judai said.

Yusei shrugged. He, too, glanced across at Team Taiyou.

“Yamashita-san promised that he wouldn't tell his teammates that we met up,” he said. “And it looks like Taro is the last runner—so we can expect to get the fair match we promised.”

“That's good,” Judai said.

He frowned out at the arena.

He couldn't tell if their pit crew was lacking, or over-full right now. Carly, Lua, and Luka were all, obviously, absent. Carly was still recovering in the hospital; it would be at least another few days before she was discharged. Luka and Johan had left this morning, disappearing into the spirit world. Judai hadn't heard from either of them since, but he trusted Johan to take care of Luka—and Luka to take care of herself. It was hard to get a message through the thick layers of spirit world, which was what made Lua's ability to speak across dimensions so incredible. Hopefully, the next time he heard from Johan and Luka, they would have Lua's soul with them.

But in the meantime, his old classmates had joined them in the pit. Manjoume was leaning over Bruno on the readouts, pointing at something as he discussed something with Bruno. Shou was on headset, clearly talking to Crow, who was already near the D-Wheels, just testing his engine while Jack stood nearby with his arms folded. Aki hovered near them, with her Duel Disk strapped on—ready in case a fight had to break out from the sidelines. Asuka had gone out to put her sensors all around the arena near the track. Without Carly to keep an eye on things for them, it would make it easier for them to keep an eye on things.

“I don't know that we have anything to worry about this time, except the duel itself,” Judai said.

Yusei looked down, curious. Judai bit his lip.

“Fujiwara hasn't shown up since that night, he'll...he'll be more interested in trying to find his kids than messing with us. It's too late, anyway, for him to stop what happened to his kids because of us...”

He didn't mention the fact that he knew Fujiwara wanted to kill Yusei. Either way, Fujiwara had been remarkably quiet since the day that Lua had turned on him. Maybe he wouldn't show up.

“And Yliaster clearly wants us to win,” he said. “So...they won't try to sabotage us.”

Yusei nodded quietly.

“Hopefully that's all we have to deal with, then,” he said. “I'm...distracted enough as it is.”

Judai wanted to reach for Yusei's hand, but Yusei had both of his on his helmet. As though reading his mind, Yusei tucked his helmet under his arm, and let his hand fall down. Judai immediately grabbed for it, and their hands tightened around each other.

“I'm scared,” Judai whispered.

Yusei nodded.

“Me too,” he said.

They just stood there for a moment, holding hands tightly together. Then the tone sounded for the runners to get ready.

“Who's up first?” Judai said.

“Jack,” Yusei said. “It's been working out for us so far, anyway.”

Judai nodded. He winced at a rolling roar from the crowd, echoing as Jack drove his bike around from the pit up to the starting line, matching up with the first runner from Team Taiyou. Yusei tightened his grip briefly.

“If you're getting stressed, you can go into the back—it's quieter, and you can still see everything from the screens,” Yusei said.

Judai smiled faintly.

“Thanks,” he said. “I...actually, I think I'm going to go check in with Asuka. I want to make sure everything's okay on her end.”

Yusei squeezed his hand again, and then leaned down to plant a brief kiss on Judai's lips. Judai only wished that it had been longer when Yusei leaned back again.

“We'll keep in touch,” he said, tapping his helmet where his headset was. “Don't worry, Judai...everything is going to work out.”

“If you're saying that, I guess I can trust it,” Judai said, smiling.

It was a struggle to release Yusei's hand, and his own hand felt cold in the absence of it. He waited for Yusei to walk back over to the pit screens, leaning down next to Bruno to talk to him. Then Judai finally forced himself to his feet. Asuka was probably placing sensors just outside the stadium now. Judai didn't sense any shadows in the arena right now, and none of his friends seemed to be worried, so Asuka probably wasn't picking up anything either. That meant the only thing in the arena was the duel. No Fujiwara, yet.

He felt a faint twist in his stomach as he turned from the dueling lanes and out towards the corridor leading outside the stadium. Why _was_ Fujiwara so quiet recently? Sure, Lua's attack had probably shaken him, but if he had truly lived this loop a million times...he would think that Fujiwara would be prepared for that sort of thing to happen. Judai only remembered this singular loop so far, but from what he knew of Lua and Luka, they'd never forgive their father for doing what he was doing.

So why was Fujiwara taking so long to start on his mission again? Maybe he really was searching for Lua, just like Luka and Johan were. His stomach dropped at that thought. He hoped Johan was going to be all right.

The light blinded him briefly when he walked out from underneath the corridor, and he shaded his arm with one hand. He was just starting to turn around, wondering which way to go to look for Asuka, when he felt it.

 _Fujiwara's here_.

His stomach dropped out, and he bolted off to the left. This way! He was over here! He could sense it, more than ever before—that crawling, slimy feeling of so many shadows all congealing in one place, leaving a strange, metallic taste in the back of his mouth. His head pulsed.

He skidded to a stop as he came around the edge of the stadium and—

“No, I don't—I _don't_ understand, Fujiwara!”

Judai hesitated. He saw Asuka's back to him, her hands in fists at her sides. Across from her was Fujiwara, and he looked...he looked awful.

The man's face had gone literally gray, only the barest tinge of color left to it. He looked hollow cheeked, as though he were wasting away to bone. His ponytail had come undone and his green hair hung limply around his face. Shadows clawed at him from all angles, pooling around his feet, straggling about his legs, as though he were simply covered in a bunch of wriggling black snakes. And his eyes...they had been a full black since Judai had met him in this time, but they looked like hollow holes, now, without any shine to them.

Asuka glanced back at the sound of Judai's feet, and her eyes widened. Immediately, she threw one arm out, as though to protect him.

“Don't you dare,” she hissed at Fujiwara.

Fujiwara's lip curled.

“You think so lowly of me already,” he said, his voice sounding hollow, exhausted. It was as though every word was a struggle.

“I think that I don't know if I can trust you!” Asuka said. “You come here, confront me and tell me that I should draw Yusei-kun out so that you can kill him?”

“Asuka, please,” Fujiwara. “If you would let me explain—”

“The Fujiwara I started fighting alongside wouldn't have dropped to that level,” she snapped. “The Fujiwara that I thought I knew for decades would never have decided the only option is to kill an innocent person! Yusei-kun is fighting the same enemy!”

Judai heaved for breath, not even sure what to say or do. He didn't think Asuka would be able to stand against Fujiwara if he were to attack her—his exhausted look aside.

“Please,” Fujiwara begged. “Please...I'm running out of time...this is about the time I start to lose my body's cohesion, I don't have much time.”

Judai stepped forward, despite Asuka's clear attempt to put herself in between him and Fujiwara.

“What are you talking about?” he said, desperate. “Fujiwara, please, I'm begging you—if you could just tell me what's happening! You know what happens in the future—I don't! I don't remember the loop! If you could tell me what happens to Yusei, we can prevent it!”

Asuka's lips parted and she looked down at Judai with some surprise. Perhaps Fujiwara hadn't told her about the time loop yet.

Fujiwara shook his head.

“I told you, once,” he said quietly. “I told you what happens to him.”

He coughed, and covered his mouth with one hand. Judai felt his heart drop into his stomach when he saw shadows bubble up over Fujiwara's fingers, as though he were spewing up bile.

“You were so determined to save him, that for a while I thought you could do it,” Fujiwara said. “But you couldn't. None of us could—and what happened to you in return was more cruel than what I am trying to do.”

Judai felt so cold. He felt like he was going to tremble to pieces. If—if he just could _know_...if he could just know what Fujiwara knew, if he could have all the pieces that Fujiwara did, maybe he could figure it out.

“I can't believe you!” Asuka said, half lunging forward. “I don't know—half of what you're saying, Fujiwara, but—since when have we not been able to solve something by working together? Since when do you think that you have to do everything yourself?? Talk to us, Fujiwara! You got us involved!”

Fujiwara winced, pressing his hand harder to his mouth.

“I wish I hadn't,” he said, his voice cracking. “I wish I had listened to Manjoume-kun all those years ago. I wish I had gotten you all uninvolved.”

A stray tear actually escaped his eyes.

“I'm just about gone for this loop,” he said. “What you see next time won't be me. And I hope to god that the next time you start this goddamn loop—because you always, always will—that next time, I will stop making the same goddamn mistakes.”

Fujiwara lifted his eyes to Judai then, and for just the barest moment, Judai saw his real eyes—the faint purple surrounded by normal whites, instead of the full black.

“What did you do to yourself?” Judai whispered.

Fujiwara grimaced from behind his hand.

“Humans were never meant to host all of Darkness all at once,” he whispered. “Except you.”

Judai felt cold. What did that mean? Fujiwara had...Fujiwara had let Darkness take him over again. But what did he mean?

“Just please...take my last warning,” Fujiwara begged. “For Yusei's sake. Stop him before he becomes the thing he doesn't want to be. You, of all people, should want that for him.”

He swallowed, and staggered back a step.

“And take care of my kids. I couldn't do it—I never could.”

Asuka reached for Fujiwara, her face briefly going pale.

But Fujiwara simply vanished, disappearing under her fingers—fading away like a shadow in sunlight. She stood there with her hand outstretched at nothing. Her hand trembled.

Everything of Judai trembled, too. He wanted to break down. He didn't understand! He didn't know what was happening, he didn't know what Fujiwara knew, he didn't know what Fujiwara wanted!

 _Yusei will never change,_ Judai thought. _He'd never...I'd make sure that he was all right, always—so what happens? What happens to Yusei??_

Asuka slowly, slowly pressed her face into both her hands.

“I don't understand,” she said, her voice cracking. “Judai...I don't understand.”

Judai thought that maybe he should comfort her. Maybe he should put his hand on her shoulder, or awkwardly pat her back.

He couldn't do it. He could only see Fujiwara, coughing up shadows, and fading away into nothing as he begged for Judai to do the one thing he could never do.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hey wow this fic is alive, fancy that
> 
> thanks for y'alls lovely comments and your immense patience <3 love you guys


	30. Ophiuchus

Luka stumbled—for a moment, she couldn’t breathe.  Before she could panic, however, a hand dropped onto her shoulder and the spell seemed to shatter, air rushing into her lungs again.

“You all right?”

She just leaned against Johan's hand for a moment, recomposing herself.

“I think so,” she said.

She blinked a few times—the air was...dusty, she thought.  What was this?  Where were they?  She could hear the sound of a distant ocean, lapping against a beach, but besides that...nothing.

“Lua went really far,” Johan said.  “I've...I've never been this far before.”

Luka finally got her eyes to clear and she looked around.

The world was all in grays and whites and blacks, as though something had leached the colors out of it.  They stood on a high hill, bone white grass swishing around their feet from their movement.  Besides that, however, there was no breeze, and the entire world stood stock still.  In the far distance, she could see the stain of a black forest somewhere below the hills they stood on.

“Where are we?”

She looked up at Johan, who was staring out at the world around them, biting his lip.

“...the Outlands,” he said finally.  “Have you heard of them?”

She hadn't, and she shook her head.

“It's one of the farthest dimensions possible to reach.  If there's anything else beyond this, we don't know about it.”

He frowned.

“This is...not a good place,” he said.

Luka's heart jumped.

“Then we have to find Lua!” she said.  “We have to go!”

He gripped her shoulder tightly.

“Don't worry,” he said.  “Remember, Luka-chan, the fastest way to lose our way is to lose our heads.  We'll find him, but we have to stay calm.”

Luka sucked in a breath, trying to steady herself.  It was hard, though, and there was a tremble passing through her limbs.

“Okay,” she said quietly.

Johan patted her once.

“All right,” he said.  “Normally, I would tell you to summon your most trusted, strongest monster now—but in the Outlands...that would send everything here into a riot.”

Luka glanced around at the silent, white landscape.

“There's nothing here, though,” she said.

“Nothing we can see,” Johan said, and the grimness of his tone made her shudder.  “Don't be fooled, Luka.  The creatures in the Outlands are some of the most dangerous in the spirit world.  And they won't let themselves been seen until it's too late.”

He frowned, looking around them.

“Summon Kuribon,” he said.  “Or at least, try calling out to her.  The energy from a smaller monster won't set the creatures here off, but Kuribon will be better at sensing what's around us than we are.”

Luka nodded.  She clasped her hands together and closed her eyes.  Carefully, she visualized her friend, sending out tendrils of thoughts towards the place in her heart that Kuribon's memory always resided.

There was a faint pop, and when she opened her eyes, Kuribon was barreling into her arms.  The little puffball didn't make a sound, however, and when Luka hugged her friend back, Kuribon shuddered deeply.  She frowned.

“Are you okay?” Luka said.

Kuribon looked up at her with her huge, shiny eyes.  She looked...scared, Luka thought.

“You don't like this place do you?”

 _“Kuri,”_ Kuribon agreed. 

Luka hugged her tighter.

“I'm sorry,” she said.  “You don't have to stay if you don't want to.”

But Kuribon shook herself irritably.

 _“Kuri, kuri,”_ she said.  _I'm not leaving you here alone._   Luka's eyes bubbled with tears.

“Thank you,” she whispered.

When she looked up again, Johan had Ruby Carbuncle on his shoulder, and he was scanning the horizon again.

“Let's go,” he said.  “And stay close to me.  If you think you hear Lua, tell me.  Don't run off on your own— _even_ if you think you hear that he's in trouble, okay?  There are things around here that will try to trick you.”

Luka shuddered.

“Okay,” she agreed.  She absolutely would not go off on her own, she promised.  No—no matter what.

She resisted the urge to grab Johan's hand for comfort as Johan set off down the hill with her in his wake.  Every swish of the grass from their legs moving through it made her flinch—it sounded so loud in this silent world.  Kuribon nuzzled into her arms, and she clung to her, the warm fuzz grounding her to herself.

Somehow, it seemed to take hours for them to reach the end of the hill and start on the next one.  And then more hours to reach the top of that one.  How long had they been walking?  Nothing was getting closer, or changing...the hills all looked the same.  The grass all looked the same.

Luka's eyes started to droop.  Was she tired already?  But they hadn't been walking for that long...had they?

Johan grabbed her arm.  Luka startled squeaking.  Kuribon jumped from her arms and swirled twice around her head, the bell on her tail jingling.

“Luka,” Johan said, low and reassuring. “Luka.  Stay with me.”

“H-huh?”

“Shh,” Johan said.  “I need you to look only at me.  All right?”

“O-okay.”

She looked right at Johan, staring up at his green eyes, just trying to breathe.  What had happened?  Why was Johan looking so pale?

Something flickered out of the corner of her eye, and she almost looked.

“Just look at me, Luka, please.”

Luka forced herself not to look.  A brief panic spiked through her arms.

“W-what's wrong?” she said.

“I need you to stay very, very still,” Johan said.  It was clear that he was trying very hard to stay calm, and it was making Luka even more nervous.  She gripped at her shirt and only nodded.  Johan nodded back, clenching his jaw.  Slowly, slowly, he moved his free hand around behind her, the other one still gripping her arm.  She gasped, feeling something sticky on the back of her shirt all of a sudden.  H-how hadn't she felt that before?  It was cold, even through her shirt, and Johan grit his teeth as he carefully, carefully peeled something away from her back.

“Step towards me.”

Luka did so, hopping forward quickly.  Johan dropped whatever it was he had taken off of her, and grabbed her in both arms, practically carrying her as he hopped back a few feet.  Kuribon followed  and darted behind Johan.

Finally, Luka couldn't handle it.  She looked over her shoulder to see.

She almost threw up.

Something black and slimy was...leaking out of a crack in the ground.  A thick, goopy tendril flopped to the ground, and Luka realized that had been the thing on her shirt.  She felt like crying.  H-how had she not noticed that?

“W-what...?” she started.

“Shh,” Johan said.  “I'll explain in a minute, but for now, we have to back off.”

Luka just nodded.  She was so scared all of a sudden.  She could barely cling to Johan as he slowly backed the two of them up, one step at a time.  The slime oozed out over the ground lazily, slow like molasses.  It almost...it almost seemed to be breathing, she thought with horror.  The ooze rose and fell slowly ever so slightly, like a chest rising with each breath.

They were halfway up the next hill away from it.

“W-what is it?” Luka whispered.

Johan swallowed.

“It's...some kind of outer entity,” he said.  “One of the major creatures of the Outlands, they're...they're the apex predators, you could say.  But apex predators with malice.”

Luka swallowed.

“I've never seen one before, so I don't know much about it,” Johan said.  “I think...that might just be an appendage it shoots out to passively gather food.  I'm sorry, Luka, I didn't realize it had grabbed you for a few moments.  I think it was feeding you the illusion that you had kept walking to prevent you from noticing it was there.”

Luka swallowed through the lump in her throat, eyes bubbling with tears.  And Lua was out here, in a place like this?  All by himself?

“Won't it notice that I got away?”

“Like I said...passive feeding, like a venus fly trap,” Johan said.  “As long as we don't disturb it further, it should...just go on doing what it's doing.”

Luka finally found herself able to breathe again as they got farther away from the slime.  She let out a thick sigh, her shoulders relaxing. They were about at the top of the hill.

“Johan-san,” she mumbled.  “W-what if...Lua...”

Johan squeezed her a little tighter.

“Don't give up, Luka-chan.  I'm positive your brother is tough enough to make it through, if he's anything like you.”

Luka grimaced.  She knew that Johan was trying to make her feel better, but she didn't feel very tough right now...she just felt scared.

The ground exploded.

Luka couldn't stop her scream, and Johan shouted, flinging her behind him.  The slime exploded upwards into the sky, thick goopy tentacles flailing about and smacking the ground, sending more cracks through the earth.  Luka screamed again—and the ground went out from under her feet.  Johan whipped around, eyes widening in a pale face, and he made a wild swipe for her hand.

He missed.

Luka stopped screaming as the darkness below her swallowed her up, and she fell down, down, down into the earth below...

*    *    *

Luka woke slowly.  At first, she didn’t know that she was awake at all.  It was so dark that there was no difference between her eyes being closed or open.

Then she felt something wet and slimy fall onto the back of her head, and she choked on a muffled yelp, scrambling up to her knees.

Once she was sitting up, she saw that it wasn’t quite as dark as she had thought it was.  There was just barely enough light, possibly from somewhere off in the distance, that she could adjust and make out something of her surroundings.  She was in some kind of cave.  The ground was cold and just a bit damp, enough to make it somewhat slippery under her fingers.  Stalactites and stalagmites lined the ceiling and floor, making it look like she was inside a giant toothy mouth.  She shivered.

Nervously, she reached back with one hand to see what had fallen on her head.  Her lip curled with disgust.  Eww…it was slimy and it was all over her hand now, like thick dog slobber.  Just from a really, really big dog.  She wiped it off on the floor but it didn’t do much to get rid of the gross feeling.

She wanted to call out for Johan, but she thought that would be a bad idea.  What about Kuribon?  She didn’t hear or sense her fuzzy friend anywhere.  Tentatively, she reached out with a tendril of her telepathy, searching for Kuribon.

Something else met her mental probe, something cold, dark, and vast in its abyss, and she choked, pulling back immediately.  It wasn’t enough, because she heard something right over her head grumble and slither.  She froze, clamping her mouth shut.  She tried not to breathe.

Something like a phlegmy cough rang through the cave, and she heard a splatter of more slimy grossness hit the floor just inches away from her.

“Now, now…where’s the little mage…I won’t eat you.  I promise.  Where are you?”

Luka swallowed thickly.

 _Not here,_ she thought.  _I’m not here_.

A faint chuckle echoed overhead, followed by another roll of disgusting coughs.  This time some of the saliva splattered over her and she almost cried.  She managed to keep herself quiet though.

“You don’t need to call out or let me know where you are,” the voice said.  “But I can hear you if you think to me…can’t find where you are from that, don’t worry.  It’s been so long since I’ve had someone to talk to.”

Luka tried to clear her mind completely, be completely silent.  That just seemed to make the creature laugh and cough more.  She heard more slithering on the ceiling just above her, like a thousand tiny snakes all crawling along the stone.

“You’re not quite skilled enough to keep me completely out of your head,” the creature said.  “Now tell me—what have you come here for, little mage?”

Luka tried to keep the thoughts out of her head, but it was no use.  She thought of Johan and Lua and her friends and about how she had come here to find her brother.

“How cute,” the creature coughed.  “I might be able to help you if you’ll let me know where you are.”

 _Not a chance_.

“Fair enough, fair enough.”

The creature rumbled a bit.  She heard more slithering, but it didn’t seem to be moving very much.  Whatever it was, it was staying right where it was on the ceiling.  The voice didn’t move, either, so she thought that maybe it wasn’t searching for her.

“How interesting, though,” the creature said.  “You have the Claw.  It’s been a long time since any of the Crimson Dragon have come this far.  Perhaps it truly is the end of days.  The end of my days, anyway.”

Another laugh fading into a cough.  Luka had no idea what it was talking about.

“Oh?  You don’t?  Curious…ah.  I see.  None of you have had any kind of teacher?  Adorable.”

She heard more rumbly slithers and tried to blink back her nervous tears.

“Well, since you’re here, and I haven’t had anyone to talk to in so long, perhaps you would like to hear a story?” the creature said.

Luka felt sick to her stomach.  She didn’t know what this thing was, but she was so scared.  She doubted that anything in this place was kind.  It would probably eat her as soon as it knew where she was.  It might even be the origin of that black goop that had almost killed her before.

“You do me a disservice,” the creature said.  “Perhaps I’m just lonely.”

Luka tightened her hands into her shorts and remained silent.  The creature cleared its throat with another splatter of saliva on the ground.

“You see, once upon a time, there wasn’t a Crimson Dragon,” the creature said.  “There was only one dragon.  Only, that dragon got lonely, and went and killed itself to make the universe.  Imagine that?”

It laughed with another choking cough.

“So that dragon died and split and became _two_ dragons, and those dragons made a _third_ dragon, and then it was dragons all the way down.”

It seemed to find this endlessly hilarious, and it began to roll with alternating laughs and coughs.  Luka wondered if it was sick, or if that was just what it sounded like normally.

“Of course, once humans came along, it muddied everything up,” the creature continued.  “You little ones are so exceedingly good at that for your size.  One way or another, one of the two dragons got quite bothered.  Went mad, even.”

She could almost imagine a too wide smile grinning down at her, but she didn’t move, and didn’t look up.  M-maybe Johan would be able to find her before the creature got bored of telling its story.

“So the other dragon asked a human to help, and that human went and slayed the first dragon.  But you can’t kill a dragon, not forever, so the madness was only stayed for a little while, and the dragon got worse and worse.  And then the second dragon also started going mad, and soon everyone was feeling a little bit mad because of it.  What about you?  Do you feel a little bit mad?”

Luka swallowed and closed her eyes, trying not to think.  She didn’t know what the point of this was.  The creature chortled wetly.

“So the first dragon, trying so very desperately to protect the world that the original dragon had died to create, split itself into two more dragons.  One dragon took their heart, and hid it away, so that it couldn’t go completely mad.  Hoping that one day, there would be souls born that could connect with the mad dragons and take the madness away for good.”

What was this creature trying to gain??  Was it just waiting for her to crack and move so that it could grab her?  Was it biding its time while it found her?

“Some say that the dragon with the heart of the split dragon is the Crimson Dragon,” the creature said. “Hm.  That’s a lot of dragons.  Are you understanding all this, little mage?”

 _What do you want me to understand?_ Luka thought in spite of herself.

The creature chuckled again.

“Well, perhaps you’ll understand if I say it clearer.  You’re the Claw, aren’t you?  Which means you’re part of the Crimson Dragon, which means you’re directly descended right down the line from the original dragon that made the universe.”

She heard a slathering sound then, like a tongue running over lips.

“Which means that your power would be so _delicious…_ ”

Something cold and slimy wrapped around Luka’s ankle and she screamed in spite of herself.  Immediately, she was yanked into the air by her ankle, dangling helplessly.  She kicked and flailed, but more slimy appendages wrapped around her other leg and one of her wrists.

“Mm, your aura is so very richly colored now that I can see it,” she heard it say, much, much closer than it had been before. 

She squinted with terror through the darkness, and a huge, bulbous slimy thing hanging from the ceiling came into view, dripping with black goop that draped over its entire body.  A huge, toothy mouth grinned out from it—more than one toothy mouth, she thought with horror.  There were more sticking out of its other bulbous bubbles of goop.

“It would be nice if you would just be quiet like you were before,” the creature said, though she didn’t see any of its mouths moving.  “It’s unfortunate when meals make too much commotion.  Brings out all the riffraff.”

Luka screamed.  There was no point in not, now, and if there was even the slightest chance that Johan could hear her—

The creature’s mouth opened huge and wide and she felt hot air rush over her skin.  She closed her eyes and flinched, eyes bubbling with tears.  She just wished she could do something to protect herself—

A cool breeze wafted over her for a moment.  She thought she smelled flowers.  For just a moment, her mind snapped back to the Ancient Forest, where she had met Ancient Fairy Dragon.

 _Please_ , she begged.  _Please—I need you._

Air rushed over her all at once and then suddenly, she was falling.

She didn’t have time to scream before she landed on top of something soft and silky smooth.  She put her hands down behind her, feeling at smooth, pearly scales.  Gently, they wafted to the ground, and even in the dark, Luka could see the faint pearlescent glow of Ancient Fairy Dragon.  Luka’s eyes bubbled over with tears.

“You came!” she cried, throwing her arms around Ancient Fairy Dragon’s neck.  “Oh thank you, thank you, thank you!”

Ancient Fairy twisted her head back and nuzzled Luka with her nose.

 _“I will always come to your aid, my little one,”_ she said.  _“You need only call for me.”_

Over their heads, the creature shrieked.

“And so her dragon emerges too!!  It really is dragons all the damn way down!”

Luka flinched other another spray of saliva.

“I’ll eat _both_ of you,” it shrieked.  “I’ll eat both of you and then _I’ll_ be strong enough to leave this goddamn dimension!”

Ancient Fairy shrieked back at it, a high, angry screech like a bird.  She flared her butterfly wings out protectively, and Luka clung to her back.

“C-Can you fight it?” she said.

_“It may be stronger than I.  I shall do everything in my power.”_

She craned her head back, maw open wide.  Golden, sunlike sparkles gathered at the back of her throat, lighting up the cave with a ghostly light.  Her wings began to shimmer with heat.  She let the power loose from her maw in a rain of molten gold.  The bulbous creature shrieked and writhed, drawing back up against the ceiling where it hung—but then long slimy arms shot out and grabbed Ancient Fairy by the base of her wings, yanking the two of them into the air.  Luka cried out and clung to Ancient Fairy’s neck as tight as she could.

Ancient Fairy threw her head around, slamming it into the side of the creature, but it did nothing to release them.  Teeth flashed and Ancient Fairy screamed—Luka screamed too, her arm burning with pain from her mark. 

“Ancient Fairy!!”

Ancient Fairy hung limply from the creature’s maw.  Her wings fluttered, but she didn’t seem able to get free.  Luka grabbed for her dragon.

“Ancient Fairy!  Ancient Fairy!”

_“Over the Rainbow!!”_

_“Crafty Break!”_

Light flared over the cavern again—an explosion of rainbow colors blasted into the creature, followed by the humming roar of a giant screwdriver that pummeled into it.  It shrieked and released Ancient Fairy.  The two of them went down, but something long and sinuous caught them it its coils, lowering them gently to the ground.  Luka slid from Ancient Fairy’s back, dizzy.  She almost fell over except that arms grabbed her, and then she was caught in a hug from the other side.

“Luka, Luka, Luka!”

“Luka, are you okay?  Breathe, okay?”

Luka gasped, her eyes clearing.  She saw Johan first, but she turned, fumbling for the other voice. Could it be?

Lua’s face appeared in her vision, his face red and ruddy with tears.  He gasped and threw his arms around her neck, almost choking her.

“I’m sorry!!” he said.  “I’m so sorry, I’m so sorry, Luka!!  I made you come all the way out here!”

Luka just grabbed him back and hugged him so tightly she thought they’d both choke.  Tears stained against his shoulder as she cried.

“I’m sorry,” she cried.  “I came to save you, and you had to save me, I’m sorry, I’m sorry it took so long to find you—”

“Kids!” Johan shouted.  “Over head!”

A huge white dragon arched over them, shrieking as the slimy hands clawed into it instead.  Luka burst out of Lua’s arms, her eyes widening.

That must have been Johan’s dragon protecting them.  It was long and fuzzy, with huge feathered wings and gems that glowed all down its sides.  Ancient Fairy was still crumpled on the ground underneath them, and Lua’s Power Tool Dragon crouched over her protectively.

“You have Power Tool!” Luka said, her eyes widening.

Lua rubbed at the tears in his eyes and tried to smile.

“I—I found Johan-san while he was looking for you,” he said.  “And he gave me a little bit of a magic boost to help me call for him.”

He licked his lips, turning his eyes up towards the creature.

“Can we beat it?” he said.

“We don’t have to beat it, we just have to get out of here and get back to our extraction point,” Johan said.  “Rainbow Dragon will distract it—have Power Tool carry Ancient Fairy.”

Lua nodded, and turned towards Power Tool, his face scrunching up as he sent the mental request.  Power Tool cautiously got its big blue claw underneath Ancient Fairy, lifting her onto his back.  Luka’s heart flinched at her limp frame.  Was she so badly injured??  She had to do something!

“I won’t let you get away!” the creature hissed, this time sounding like there were twenty things saying it in unison.

Johan swore, and Luka screamed as she saw the walls of disgusting goop sealing between the stalactites, blocking off their entrance. 

“Rainbow Dragon, try to make us a path—”

Johan’s eyes bulged and he doubled over.  At the same time, the creature stabbed at Rainbow Dragon with its claws and the dragon screamed.  Luka grabbed Johan’s shoulder while he struggled to stand up again, pale and sweating.

“Power Tool, give it another Crafty Break!” Lua shouted.

“Lua, no, Power Tool isn’t strong enough—” Johan started.

Power Tool had already set Ancient Fairy down and surged upwards again.  It tried to stab into the creature with its drill, but the slime only grabbed hold of it, pulling it inwards as though consuming it within its slime.

“Delicious,” the creature hissed.  “I thought I was only going to get the Claw, but it looks like the tenderest part of the dish came right to me.”

“Power Tool!!” Lua shouted, his voice trembling with horror.

Luka felt dizzy.  Tears blurred her vision—she was so scared, and so tired, and she had just found Lua, but were they going to fail right here?

 _I want to be able to protect everyone for once_ , she thought.  _Please, I want—I want to go home, with everyone, and for everyone to be safe!_

Warmth blossomed from her mark and she gasped, looking down.  Her Claw mark was glowing—and then it vanished.  Vanished??  Why did it vanish?

She heard Lua gasp, saw his eyes flashed to her and widen, and then she felt heat against her back.  Ancient Fairy stirred.  Her mind clicked and then snapped into place.

Silvery dust sparkled around Power Tool Dragon where he hung in the air.  And then they all turned to shards of glass, slicing through the goop and making the creature shriek.  Luka saw silver glowing around her vision.  Ancient Fairy Dragon was standing up—but she was…different.

Her scales had turned a brilliant platinum blue, almost white.  Where once golden designs had decorated her scales, opalescent, rainbow shimmers now took their place, arching around her chest and to her back into long spikes running all down her back.  Instead of a mane of green from the back of her head, a misty silver cloud wavered from the base of her head, glittering with tiny sparkles inside the cloud.  Her eyes had turned a deep, galaxy blue, and her wings—she had two pairs of them now, both of them shimmering silver and gold, with flecks of sparkles that caught rainbow glimmers along the veins.

“Whoa,” Lua whispered.  “Luka…what happened to Ancient Fairy?”

“She’s…not Ancient Fairy anymore,” Luka said, saying it almost automatically.  The name came to her tongue before she knew what it was.  “Pixie Veil Dragon.”

Pixie Veil raised her head and let out a high, melodic keen.  She spread her wings wide, her own light sending shimmers down the flecks of rainbow.  Luka knew what to do.

“Pixie Veil, cover us,” she called.  “Starry Shroud!”

Pixie Veil took the air, shooting towards the top of the ceiling and starting to fly in quick, fast circles.  She was smaller than Ancient Fairy had been, and the creature couldn’t catch her, no matter how hard it tried.  A ghost of mist streamed from her cloudy hair, leaving a trail that tightened around their group.  The mist settled over them like a…like a veil.  The creature shrieked as Pixie Veil landed among them, twitching her long tail.

Its appendages reached for them again—and bounced off of the mist as though it were solid.  Johan’s lips parted with awe.

“You evolved Ancient Fairy,” he said.  “She’s protecting us.”

“We should go,” Luka said, grabbing Lua’s hand.  “Call Power Tool!”

Lua stared with his mouth hanging open for just a moment.  Then he nodded, and turned over his shoulder to get Power Tool back to his feet, lumbering after them.

The veil moved with them, and cut through the walls of goop as though it were made of knives.  Luka could hear the creature still screaming as they walked surely off towards freedom.

Lua’s hand was warm and solid in hers, and she sighed, closing her eyes.  Her brother was back where he should be.

“Johan,” she mumbled. “Let’s go home now.”

He chuckled softly, putting his hand on her shoulder.

“I couldn’t agree more.”


	31. Corona Borealis

 

Yusei pulled off his helmet, hair plastered to his face from the sweat. 

Judai grabbed him before he could even dismount from his bike, smothering him in a huge hug.  Yusei dropped his helmet and hugged him back, pressing his face against Judai’s shoulder.

The crowds overhead roared, as the screen over the stadium glowed and changed, showing Team 5D’s as the decided winners against Team Taiyou.

“That was rough,” Yusei breathed.  “I thought Taro might try to go easy on us.”

“You were going to win no matter what,” Judai said, almost as breathless despite having not dueled at all this match.

They broke apart the hug, and Yusei glanced across the road.  Taro was pulling his D-Wheel through to the pit on the other side.  He took off his helmet and looked across at Yusei.  He set him a tentative smile, and raised his fist up towards him in a gesture of  _ good game _ .  Yusei returned the gesture.  He turned to Judai then.

“Any word from Johan?” he said.

“Not yet,” Judai said.  “But don’t worry.  I’m sure they’re going to be fine.”

He jolted a bit then, looking upwards as though at something Yusei couldn’t hear or sense.  His heart clenched for a moment, but then he relaxed as he saw Judai’s face slump with relief.

“Oh thank god,” he mumbled.  “Johan just sent Ruby.  They found Lua.”

Yusei let his head fall down against his handlebars, all of the tension going out of him all at once.

“They had to go all the way to the Outlands, but they found him, and he’s okay.  They’re coming back; but it’s going to take them a bit of time; they have to pass through a few extra dimensions on the way back.”

Yusei only nodded against his handlebars.  The duel had been stressful enough as it was, without Lua hanging over his head.  But he was okay.  Johan and Luka had him and they were coming back.

Crow finally caught up to them, grabbing Judai around the shoulders with a whoop and then mussing Yusei’s hair with his other hand.

“We fuckin’ did it!” he shouted.  “I thought we were gonna fuckin’ lose that one, holy hells.”

“Only you thought that,” Jack growled, as he headed over to them too.

Aki appeared next, passing Yusei a waterbottle, and Yusei accepted it with a smile.

“Lua’s safe,” he said before he took a drink.  “Johan and Luka found him.”

Aki had to lean against Jack’s D-Wheel in the parking zone from the relief, and Crow’s face lit up.  He punched the air and whooped again, and then grabbed Jack almost sent the pair of them tumbling to the ground.  Jack swore at him and almost punched him.

“Would you calm  _ down _ ,” Jack said.

“No!” Crow said.  “We just won our duel and all our friends are safe!  Fuck, Jack, we’re gonna have to celebrate something like this!”

“We’re not done fighting, you know that, right?” Yusei said with a grin, still slumped on his D-Wheel from the exhausted relief.

“Who cares, life is short,” Crow said. “Let’s at least celebrate the small victories, right??”

The cheer was a bit infectious, and Yusei could only shake his head and smile.  Judai looked like he was about to pass out from the sheer relief as well.  Yusei couldn’t blame Crow for his excitement.  This was the first real victory they had had in what felt like ages.  Everyone was finally going to be safe and in one place, and they were making progress.

He reached out for Judai’s hand, and they gripped hold of each other.

“Instead of celebrating, how about a nap?” Judai joked.

“I could go for that,” Yusei said, feeling a little dizzy.  Maybe, just maybe, everything was going to work out.

*    *    *

“So these are the coordinates, right?”

Asuka rolled her eyes and nodded, as it was the fourth time that Manjoume had asked already.  Yusei held Lua’s currently empty body in his arms, the boy’s arms over his shoulders and his head flopped and sleeping.  It was eerie, carrying him like this.  His body was still functioning, the heart still beating and lungs still breathing, but he was unnaturally cold, and he looked almost gray skinned.  There was an eerie wrongness to the space around him, that holding him only made more intense.

They had come up to the bluff overlooking the entire city, Yusei’s favorite spot.  This was where Johan had told them they’d be able to come through from their last dimension jump.  Lua was in soul form right now with them, and if he came through out here with no body to return to quickly, his soul could get forced back to the dimension they had come in the best case, or get injured in the best case.  So, they had to move Lua’s body close to where he’d come out.

Asuka was still checking the area with one of her scanners, while Manjoume tapped his foot impatiently.  Shou waited with his sidecar, as they expected Lua and Luka would both be too tired to expect them to ride back themselves on their boards.

Judai and the others simply waited impatiently near Yusei, all in varying degrees of nerves.  Aki wrung her hands, Jack drummed his fingers, Crow paced, Bruno rocked from foot to foot.

“It’s gonna work out fine,” Judai said.  “Lua will snap back to his body as soon as they’re back.  Easy.”

“Easy for you to say,” Jack muttered.  “Something seems to always go wrong when we think it’s going well.”

“Shut up, Jack,” Crow said.

Jack glared at him, and Crow flipped him off, but there didn’t seem to be any malice to either of them, only nerves.  Yusei hefted Lua a little more firmly.

The air rippled, then, and Asuka swung around to point her scanner towards it.  A faint glow began to emerge from what seemed to be a crack in the air.  Yusei tensed.  Here they come.

Luka emerged first, popping through as though coming through an invisible door that was just a little too thin for her.  She stumbled, and Jack immediately reached forward to catch her.  She slumped gratefully against him, looking exhausted.  Johan appeared next, squeezing through the crack as the light grew a little brighter, almost blinding Yusei for a moment.  He grunted, arm still stuck in the air as he pulled gently on whatever he held on the other side.

It looked like Lua made out of rays of light for just a breath as the light popped through after Johan.  It immediately condensed, however, into a tiny, flickering red sphere.  The sphere wobbled, made a slow, nervous looking circle, and then shot directly for Yusei, sinking in through Lua’s back.

Immediately, Lua inhaled, eyes flying open.  The color flooded back to his skin and he was warm again, so quickly that Yusei almost flinched from the sudden change.  Lua felt suddenly heavier, then, and Yusei grunted, almost losing him.  The boy flinched and struggled.

“Hey, hey, it’s okay,” Yusei said.  Aki grabbed him from the other side, the two of them supporting him as they gently sat him down on the ground.  “You’re back, Lua.  You’re back.”

Lua looked around, disoriented and glassy eyed.  His gaze cleared slowly.  Then his eyes bubbled up with tears, and he flung himself forward to hug Yusei again.  He started babbling something, but he was sobbing so much that no one could quite hear what he was saying.  Yusei just hugged him, stroking his hair gently.

“You’re all right,” he whispered.  “You’re all right.”

“I-I’m s-sorryyy Yusei,” Lua cried.  “I got c-caught like a s-stupid, and...”

Crow joined the hug, squeezing them both tightly, and then Aki tentatively put her arms around them.  Luka flopped against Yusei’s back, and Judai hugged the both of them, and Jack made a faint grunting sound before he, too, got down on the ground to join the hug.

“It’s okay,” Yusei said.  “We’re all together now.  It’s going to be fine.”

Yusei slumped a bit then.   _ God _ .  He was going to start crying himself, right now.  He couldn’t believe it that everyone was...finally together again.  He had everyone where he could see them and everyone was...was okay.  God, he was going to start sobbing as hard as Lua if he didn’t get a hold of himself.

That was when he felt Judai flinch, and he heard the faint, smooth sound of D-Wheels humming closer.

Panic clenched over his heart.  Who was coming this way?  Why was Judai struggling to his feet so quickly and gasping?  Oh god, no, they had just finally gotten everyone back, now what?

He managed to lift his head as the quiet hum of the D-Wheels approached.  Down the road leading up to the lip, he caught a glimpse of one, two...no, three D-Wheels, headed up the switchbacks to them.  Squeezing Lua once more, he struggled to his feet as well, getting himself between everyone else and whoever was coming.

“Judai, who is that?” Yusei said, glancing at him. 

He was shocked to see how pale Judai looked, shaking slightly.

“I don’t know,” he said.  “But...but it’s powerful.  It’s really powerful.”

Johan swore, then, struggling forward from where he had sat down after coming through the hole, moving in front of Judai and Yusei.

The D-Wheelers appeared then, coming around the bend.  Yusei almost hoped they would just slow, from the surprise at seeing them here, and then keep going to wherever it was they were going.  But there was no such luck, as almost as one, they all came to a stop a few feet away from them.  Yusei didn’t recognize the D-Wheels, or the riders.

Johan, however, was trembling slightly, hands raised up as though he were ready to fight.  Yusei tensed.  Who were these people, and what did they want?

The rider at the head of the trio removed his helmet first, shaking his head to free his hair.  Silver gray hair flooded from his helmet and down his back, visor disappearing to reveal a thin, pale face.  He was foreign, Yusei thought.  Definitely not Japanese, or Asian at all.

His lips thinned as he looked directly at Johan first, eyes narrowing.

“Andersen,” he said, short and abrupt.

“Harald,” Johan said in response.  It was less of a greeting from either of them, and more of an acknowledgment that they knew each other.  “I didn’t know you were going to be here.”

Harald?  That sounded familiar.  Yusei tried to think.  Hadn’t...oh!

He glanced at Judai, who was looking at him already, thin-lipped and white-faced.  He remembered too, then.  Harald was the name of the man from the other organization that Johan had left: the Order of the Stars.

“You think that I didn’t notice when you broke your communicator?” Harald said, raising an eyebrow.

Johan looked down at the ground, still shaking slightly.

“You’re angry with me, I know,” he said.  “I’ll come with you, just don’t mess with the others.”

Harald scoffed softly.

“You think I give a damn about you, Andersen?” he said, coldly, like he was some kind of English aristocrat.  “No, you know why I’m here.”

His eyes slid directly to Yusei, then, and Yusei felt a chill pass down his spine.  The gaze didn’t last long, as Harald looked at Judai next, who stiffened and raised his fists as though they were going to physically fight.

“Who the hell are you?” Jack snapped from behind them.  “And who do you think you are?”

Harald’s eyes slid to Jack, but then back to Johan and the others, clearly ignoring him.  The man beside Harald, however, dragged his own helmet off next.  He was a much bigger man, foreign as well, with a square face and messy, spiky black and blond hair.  He glared furiously towards Jack.

“We’re your next opponents,” he said through gritted teeth.  “Team Ragnarok ring any bells?”

Yusei blinked.  He didn’t remember a team by that name, but he hadn’t been paying much attention to the brackets lately. 

The third rider finally removed his helmet too.  It seemed all three of them were foreign, and this young man looked to be the youngest, grinning as he folded his arms over his handlebars and rested his chin on his arms.  He had long, messy red hair that fell down his back, and he watched everyone with a sort of bemused grin on his face.

“So what are you doing here?” Yusei said, trying to keep his voice even.  “What do you want with us?”

Harald’s lips tightened, eyes moving back to Yusei.

“Perhaps Andersen has already told you,” he said, pushing his hair back over his shoulders.  “But we are the representatives of the Order of the Stars.”

Yusei nodded.  He knew that much.

“And you don’t like us, or something like that,” Judai said.  “You think that we’re messing with things that we shouldn’t be.”

“You already have,” Harald said flatly, looking at Judai.  “You’ve already ruined so much more than you know.”

His nose wrinkled slightly with distaste, lip curling as he glared at Judai in particular.

“Yliaster is bad enough,” he said.  “Traipsing around, thinking they have the power to right the universe.  But humans have always been stupid in groups.  It’s when individuals think they have the power to affect the universe on their own that it becomes...dangerous.”

“What the fuck are you talking about?” Judai said, sounding incredulous.

Harald sighed, closing his eyes.  He leaned heavily on one leg, his D-Wheel settling beneath him.

“All Yliaster has managed to do is speed the process of the universe’s decay,” he said.  “They tried to control Darkness with their experiments at Duel Academy, and in meddling with the Phantasms.  They tried to control light by manipulating the forces of the Light of Destruction.  They did so poorly with the Light that it coerced Darkness itself to appear, to take the world back to zero, as it was always meant to.”

Judai inhaled sharply.  Clearly, that meant more to Judai than it meant to Yusei.

“And then there was you,” Harald said, lip curling further.  “Yuki Judai, thinking that you had the right to interfere in the universe’s natural processes.”

“If I hadn’t stopped Darkness, you wouldn’t have even been born,” Judai snapped, shaking slightly.

“And that would have been natural,” Harald agreed.  “Darkness arrived much earlier than it ought, due to Yliaster’s mismanaging, but it was still meant to do what it did.  Your actions, as a champion of darkness yourself, only tipped the scales even further.”

“Harald, listen,” Johan said, pleading, but Harald’s glare snapped to him, and Johan fell silent.

“And now the world is hopelessly unbalanced, and yet you and other still think yourselves gods, allowed to toy with the fabric of creation,” Harald said, looking disgusted.

“Well fuck you, too,” Judai said, flipping him off.

Harald sneered at him, glaring.  He picked up his helmet again.

“Forfeit,” he said.  “Pull out of the tournament.  This is the last warning I’ll give any of you.”

“We can’t,” Aki said suddenly, drawing attention to her.  “Yliaster demanded that we stay in, or they’ll blow up the city.”

Harald snorted.

“This entire world will soon cease to exist in preparation for the birth of the next one,” he said.  “Due to the meddling of humanity.  I think we can manage to lose one city.”

Yusei’s nerves immediately morphed into anger.  His fists curled up and he stepped forward.

“No,” he snapped.  “Absolutely not.  We won’t let that happen.  Not the city, and not the world.”

Harald only shook his head at Yusei.

“Humans,” he snorted.  “Why are we all like this?”

He met Yusei’s gaze, and suddenly, a light sparked in his left eye.  It glowed in the shape of a strange symbol, bright and blue.  Similar symbols appeared in the left eyes of the other two, and suddenly, Yusei couldn’t break the gaze.  A pressure grew around him, a crackle filled the air like static, and he couldn’t breathe.  Like a mirage lifting off of the three’s backs, a strange shape ghosted faintly against the air, three huge beings that pushed down on Yusei like gravity had increased.

“Everyone wants to preserve life far beyond its natural time,” Harald said, fitting his helmet back over his head.  “Very well, Team 5D’s.  We will simply eliminate you before moving on to the cancer that is Yliaster.”

Yusei couldn’t  _ breathe _ .  He hated this, how they could create so much power in the blink of an eye to scare them off, to  _ intimidate _ them, make them feel helpless and powerless--

And then he felt a hand in his, and the pressure lifted with a snap, air flooding down into his lungs.  He felt a burning warmth against his palm, and looked up to see Judai holding his hand.  His eyes were glowing, green and orange, and there were fangs in his mouth as he snarled softly at them.  Judai’s own pressure filled the space, but it wasn’t choking Yusei as the others had.  It felt more like...wings, wrapping around him lightly.

“Bring it on,” Judai said.

Yusei squeezed Judai’s hand back, bolstered by his confidence.  He felt a soft coolness in his chest, then, like water spreading through him.  No, like...like bubbly stars.  He looked up at Team Ragnarok, and squeezed Judai’s hand tightly, feeling the cool presence of Stardust Dragon suddenly wrapping around them.  A fierce desire to battle the mirage creatures before them flooded his mind.  That must be...Stardust.  He could sense Stardust’s eagerness for battle.

“We’ll be waiting for you,” Yusei said softly.

Harald snorted.  Then his partners also replaced their helmets, and they pulled their D-Wheels around, pealing down the road.  The mirage creatures vanished like a puff of smoke, and Yusei felt his own and Judai’s twin pressures fading.  He slumped slightly.  Breathing felt like too much trouble all of a sudden.

“Yusei?”

The voice was quiet and nervous, and Yusei turned around with Judai, both of them switching hands to keep holding onto each other.  Lua was still sitting on the ground, leaning against Aki on one side and Luka clinging to him from the other.  He looked up nervously at the pair of them, eyes flickering between Yusei and Judai before his gaze rested on Yusei.

“Yusei,” he whispered again.  “Are...are we going to be okay?”

Yusei hesitated for just a moment.  He could feel, suddenly, everyone’s eyes on him.

Judai squeezed his hand, and Yusei smiled.

“Yes,” he said.  “We’re all together now.  The whole team.”

He glanced at Judai, and smiled.  Judai blinked, and then smiled tentatively back.  Yusei looked up at everyone, glancing at each one of them in turn.

“We can’t lose together,” he said.  “We won’t.”


	32. Virgo

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so i didn't necessarily _tag_ that there would be smut in this fic until the fic was up for like....30 chapters, so this is your warning for the explicit sexies in this chapter if for whatever reason you're not into that. it's perfectly possible to skip this chapter as nothing plot relevant happens lol.
> 
> But otherwise...pls enjoy, because this chapter has given me grief for _weeks_ and it's why it took me two weeks longer than planned to update ;w; thanks all for your patience as always  <3

Judai laid on his back, staring up at the ceiling. He hadn't turned on any lights, not that it mattered. Even without Yubel's eyes, he could see in the dark as easily as though it were the day. And it was soothing in its own way, to just lay there in the dark and quiet, feeling his body pressing into the mattress by its natural gravity.

The door half opened, cracking in just the barest bit of light from the hallway.

“Judai? Are you awake?”

Yusei's voice was soft and gentle, barely breaking the silence. Judai pulled just his head up to look at the shadow of Yusei in the doorway, and smiled.

“Yeah,” he said. “Everything okay?”

Yusei nodded silently.

“Lua's asleep...Crow and Manjoume-san are taking watches right now. They told me to leave and sleep.”

Judai chuckled, sitting up. The bed creaked slightly beneath him.

“This doesn't look like sleeping,” he said.

Yusei's cheeks actually dusted with a bit of a blush.

“Am I not allowed to come and see you?” he said, with a faint smile.

Judai just grinned cross-eyed at him, and patted the bed beside him. Yusei stepped in and closed the door behind him, leaving them in near darkness again save for the moon in the window. He stepped softly, even with his heavy boots, and Judai felt the bed shift and bend a bit with his weight as he sat down beside Judai.

For a few moments, the two of them just sat there, silent. Judai's hand automatically slid over to Yusei's, resting on top of it.

“Everything worked out so far, right?” Yusei said finally, his voice faintly strained. “We're not forgetting something again, are we?”

Judai curled his fingers into Yusei's hand and brought the fingers up to his lips, pressing his hand against his lips briefly.

“No,” he said. “No...we have it all sorted out right now. Right now...we've done everything we can.”

Another silence fell between them again. Slowly, slowly, Judai saw Yusei's shoulders slumping, and Judai automatically slid across the space so that they were pressed together then. Yusei's head slumped onto Judai's shoulder, and Judai put his arm around him, gently running his fingers through his hair. Yusei's hand curled into Judai's other hand on his lap, thoughtfully twining each finger between Judai's.

“I don't know how you do it,” Yusei murmured softly.

Judai blinked.

“Do what?”

“Stand up straight the way you do...never flinch...you looked Ragnarok in the eyes and didn't falter for a second.”

“Neither did you.”

“But I thought about it. I thought about how tired I was, and how much I just wanted everything to stop, and how I didn't want to have to fight. If you hadn't grabbed my hand...”

Judai rested his head against the top of Yusei's, closing his eyes so that he could just focus on the scent of him.

“Would you believe me if I said I was feeling the same way?” he mumbled. “That I had to grab onto you because I didn't think I could handle it if I felt alone?”

Yusei breathed out heavily.

“Yes.”

They didn't speak again for a long, long moment, just slumped against each other, Yusei's head on Judai's shoulder and Judai's head on top of Yusei's. It was warm, snuggled up next to him.

“I'm so tired,” Yusei mumbled. “Can't we just stay here forever?”

Judai let out the barest coughing laugh.

“God, don't I wish.”

Yusei's hand tightened in Judai's, and his breath caught.

“I love you, Judai,” he said, his voice barely more than a whisper. “I love you so goddamn much.”

Judai's breath caught next—it didn't matter how many times Yusei said it, it still sent a jolt through him.

“I love you,” he breathed, and he shuddered softly with the words as though they held some strange kind of power. Tears bubbled in his eyes and he near doubled over atop of Yusei, holding him tightly. “I love you, Yusei.”

It was like, suddenly, all of the tension of the last few weeks had rushed out of the both of them. Lua was safe, everyone was accounted for, there was nothing more than they could do until the next confrontation—there was nothing either of them could do. Nothing to plan, nothing to worry over, just the fight to look forward to, and oh _god_ , Judai was suddenly realizing just how much stress and tension had been in his whole body the whole time.

Yusei's hand snaked up and caught against the back of Judai's head. Judai was leaning down even before Yusei's gentle push, meeting his lips halfway. Yusei was gentle and hesitant like always, at first, but when Judai pushed, Yusei responded. In a minute, Judai was no longer cradling Yusei in his arms, instead, Yusei was up alongside him, kissing him ferociously, taking his breath away.

They broke apart in a trembling gasp and tangle of limbs in the dark, and then Yusei managed to cup Judai's cheek with one hand and their eyes were glittering at each other in the dark, and all Judai could see was the endless, starry cosmos of Yusei's eyes.

He twined his fingers into Yusei's again and then realized that he was very irritated at not being able to feel Yusei's skin, having to settle for his gloves. He tugged at the finger of one of them.

“So are those gonna stay on forever, or...?”

Yusei actually laughed, and it was a deep, husky sort of sound, one that he was trying to keep quiet for the sake of those sleeping, and then Judai was all giggles too and they could only grip onto each other, giggling like children on the bed as their foreheads knocked together.

“I guess I can take them off if it's for you,” Yusei finally whispered.

“Wow, I feel so special,” Judai teased.

Yusei tugged his gloves off and tossed them aside. He shrugged off his jacket, next, and laid it on the knob of the bed. Then his fingers trailed across the backs of Judai's hands, and the skin on skin contact made Judai shudder suddenly with the strange intensity of it. It was almost too much when Yusei's hand reached his cheek, then, but when Yusei seemed to notice and tried to pull away, Judai grabbed his hand and held it there.

“Please,” Judai whispered. “Don't let go.”

“I won't,” Yusei whispered.

And then they were kissing again, and Yusei's breath was warm in his mouth and their tongues briefly tangled, and when Judai came up for air again they had both fallen over across the bed, Yusei laying on top of him.

Yusei dotted further kisses against Judai's jaw and at the base of his chin and neck, and Judai let out the tiniest moan in spite of himself.

“Judai,” Yusei whispered. “Judai.”

It seemed less of him calling for Judai's attention, and more of him just trying to taste Judai's name over and over again, and Judai was starting to get a little bit heady and dizzy and then Yusei's lips were on his collarbone and he wrapped his arms around his shoulders and whined faintly.

Yusei hesitated, lifting up from him.

“Are you okay?” he whispered.

Judai nearly laughed, but Yusei looked so legitimately concerned that he nodded quickly.

“I am absolutely fine and I would really love it if you just kept doing whatever it was you were doing.”

Yusei blinked, and then his teeth shone in the dark as he grinned.

“You mean like this?” he teased, kissing Judai right in the hollow of his collarbone. Judai clenched his arms a little tighter around Yusei's shoulders.

Yusei was breathing just the tiniest bit heavily when he rose up again, his hands on either sides of Judai against the bed, leaning over him. For a quiet, hanging moment, neither of them spoke—they only breathed, and stared at each other, sharing the same air.

“Judai,” Yusei breathed, and Judai saw suddenly that he was trembling ever so slightly. “I...I want...uh...I mean...”

Judai briefly blanked out on what Yusei was trying to ask. Then heat rose to his cheeks. Oh. Ooooh.

“I really don't know what I'm doing,” Judai mumbled.

“We don't have to,” Yusei said quickly.

“N-no, I...I want to.”

It hit him, then, just how true it was. He had never actually...he'd never slept with anyone before, but it wasn't like he didn't know how it worked, and...

The longer he stared at Yusei's eyes, the more he wanted it so bad he thought he was going to break. He wanted the heady feeling of Yusei holding him, the feeling of his kisses against his skin, he wanted every second of it.

“Do you know what you're doing, at least?” Judai joked.

Yusei actually blushed.

“I...yeah,” he said. “I mean...yes. I do.”

Judai laughed at Yusei's awkwardness, poking him in the chest.

“You don't have to be so awkward about it,” he teased. “You were the one who brought it up, you know.”

Yusei was redder than Judai's jacket, but he was smiling. Judai wrapped his arms around Yusei's shoulders again and tucked his head against Yusei's neck, kissing him briefly and enjoying the way that Yusei's breath hitched. Yusei's arms wrapped around him back, and without his jacket on for once Judai could feel every line of every muscle in his arms and realized he had never felt safer anywhere else.

Yusei kissed him on the neck again, and then tugged at Judai's jacket to get it away from his shoulder so that he could kiss there next. Judai fumbled a bit beneath him, trying to shrug his jacket off but getting tangled in the sleeves. Yusei helped him get it off, leaving him in just his tank top, and then Yusei was tugging at the collar of that to kiss a little lower down on Judai's chest and Judai moaned slightly.

“God, should I just take everything off right now?” Judai grinned up at him.

Yusei blushed again.

“Am I going too fast?”

Judai pecked him on the lips.

“I don't expect anything less from the speed racer himself.”

Yusei near burst out laughing, but he covered his mouth with one hand, shoulders shaking from keeping it in. Judai took his chance to wriggle free of his tank top, and then tugged at Yusei's.

“Your turn,” he said.

“Now who's the speed racer?” Yusei grinned, but he pulled off his tank and tossed it aside with Judai's.

Judai almost felt like he shouldn't be surprised at the scattering of scars across Yusei's chest, but he was. Most of them were small, thin, but more than a few were long, longer than the length of his finger, and they left little divets in his skin that Judai felt when he ran his hand across them. There was one that looked like it had been deep, something that had lodged right in his stomach, and Yusei shivered slightly when Judai touched it.

“Did that hurt?” he whispered.

“No,” said Yusei. “Just...I forget they're there.”

His hand ran curiously across Judai's chest, next, feeling at the scars on his own stomach. Judai didn't have quite as many as Yusei, but his were on average bigger. Yusei's fingers felt over the spot where a dragon had once bitten Judai, and frowned, as though trying to figure out what had happened.

“What was this from?” he whispered.

“A koumori dragon,” said Judai. “Got spooked when I was trying to get it out of a trap. Got a nice chunk. Didn't mean it, though.”

Yusei swirled his finger lightly across the scars again, curiously. Then he leaned down and kissed it gently, and Judai stiffened up. Oh damn. That sent a jolt of tingling anticipation through him and he moaned, as Yusei dragged his lips lightly against the length of his skin, down to his navel.

“Fuck,” Judai let out in spite of himself, as Yusei reached the edge of his pants. Yusei was starting to pant a little bit, too, and when he lifted up over the top of Judai again, Judai could see very clearly how excited he was getting.

Not that Judai was any better, especially when Yusei gently laid his hand against the bulge in Judai's pants.

“If...if you need me to stop...” he started.

Judai groaned, reaching down to pull Yusei's wrist closer to the snaps of his pants.

“Fudo Yusei, if you don't make love to me in the next thirty seconds, I'm probably going to _explode._ Literally. Bits of Yuki Judai everywhere, all over the walls, is that what you want?”

Yusei near burst out laughing again, and Judai started giggling, too, but then Yusei's fingers were tugging at the zipper of his pants and easing them down around his legs and Judai felt all the blood rush down to his underwear. Yusei fumbled a bit with his own zipper, and swore when somehow it slipped out of his grip. Grinning, Judai leaned up to help him undo his fly.

Yusei shuddered when Judai touched his cock ever so lightly, and he started to pant a little harder. It was a heady, thrill-inducing sort of feeling, so he palmed Yusei's cock a little more firmly. Yusei moaned softly, curling up over top of Judai. His face tucked into Judai's neck again and kissed him hard, and then his hand reached around to start touching Judai next and Judai lost his grip on Yusei in the sudden haze of anticipation. Yusei's fingers were light and ticklish, running around the head of Judai's cock lightly, almost teasingly, and Judai almost swore.

“Yusei,” he groaned. “Goddammit.”

Yusei laughed into Judai's ear before kissing him on the earlobe and Judai wrapped his arms around Yusei's shoulders and groaned, trying to rub his hips up against Yusei's.

“Gimme a second,” Yusei mumbled. “One second, Judai, I need to get ready.”

“Uuughh I'm so impatient though,” Judai laughed at him. “Hurry up, speed racer.”

Yusei briefly leaned back out of Judai's arms, and Judai laid there for just a moment. He heard the soft tear of plastic and glanced up to see Yusei quickly but carefully rolling a condom over his cock.

“I'm hurrying, but this is going to hurt if I just do it,” Yusei said, raising an eyebrow at him and grinning.

“Fair point, but god, you really are a tease,” Judai said.

Yusei responded by brushing his fingers lightly against Judai's cock again and Judai groaned, half thrusting his hips upwards. It took Yusei agonizing seconds to fumble for his jacket and coat the condom in a thin sheen of lube. Judai was half certain Yusei was dragging out on purpose, especially since he kept finding excuses to touch Judai as lightly as possible.

Finally, though, Yusei was leaning over him again, sitting between his legs, his dark eyes glittering faintly in the dark. Every bit of Judai was pulsing, his chest heaving.

“Ready?” Yusei whispered into Judai's ear, making him shiver.

“Oh my god, I've been ready,” Judai said.

Then Yusei slid slowly into him and Judai _choked_ , gasping, grabbing Yusei around the shoulders with both arms. Yusei swore in a husky sort of voice and it was so _hot_ that Judai moaned.

Yusei let him adjust, hanging there for a moment in place, and Judai felt for a moment like he was floating in the shadows, curling his head against Yusei's chest.

“Shit,” he groaned.

“Are you okay?” Yusei said.

“I'm _amazing_ , holy shit,” Judai said. “Just—tell me when you're gonna move because—you are bigger than I thought or I'm just a weenie, I'm not sure which.”

Yusei laughed that muffled, husky laugh again and Judai's cock pulsed and then Yusei whispered into Judai's ear that he was going to start moving again and for a minute Judai couldn't think of _anything_ because that was when Yusei hit a really good spot and he nearly choked on it.

Then Yusei's free hand was on Judai's cock, rubbing with much less teasing this time, and Judai groaned and gasped. Yusei gasped next when Judai moved against his cock and Judai grinned at the way that Yusei was flushing and panting.

“You're sweaty,” Judai said, grinning.

“So are you,” Yusei said, touching his forehead to Yusei's.

“Fuck, I love you,” Judai moaned.

Yusei moaned, moving again, and Judai nearly choked on his words.

“I love _you_ ,” he groaned.

“Love you more.”

Yusei was probably going to play the one-upping game but then suddenly he gasped, and his hand clenched a bit against Judai's cock, and then _ohhhh fuck—_ and then Judai and Yusei both bucked once and for a second there was just a blinding _high_ that overtook Judai and he felt, for a moment, his mind _synch_ up with Yusei's, just like it did during a duel with Hourglass Dragon, and he felt Yusei's high at the same time as his and for a moment everything went blind.

And then Yusei was gasping beside him, sliding gently free of Judai and collapsing beside him, arm sprawled over his chest.

Judai leaned dizzily over and kissed him on the lips, but he was suddenly so tired that it was the weakest touch he could manage. Yusei met him back with about as much energy, but he was smiling, flushed, at Judai, and Judai felt the most wonderful warmth in his chest. He sighed, curling himself against Yusei.

“I love you,” he whispered again.

Yusei wrapped his arms around Judai and began to stroke his hair, breathing softly against his skin.

“I love you more.”

 


	33. Cancer

_ —Did you have a good night— _

Judai could  _ hear _ the snicker on the back of Yubel’s tone, and had she been possessing of a physical form, he probably would have flipped her off, feeling his cheeks flush to a shade near his jacket.

_ —don’t worry.  I didn’t watch.  I went to sleep early— _

“Shut up,” Judai groaned, rolling over.

Yusei stirred beside him, one arm tucked beneath his head.

“Hm?” he mumbled, blinking slowly awake.  Judai blushed again.

“Sorry.  That wasn’t for you.”

Yusei let out the faintest, breathy laugh, an echoey sound like he wasn’t fully awake yet.  Almost automatically, he pulled his arm around Judai a bit tighter, pulling him up towards him to plant a sleepy kiss on his lips.

Yubel made an inappropriate noise at the back of his head and Judai spluttered in the middle of the kiss.

“You okay?” Yusei said, eyes coming more awake.

“Yubel’s teasing us, that’s all,” Judai said, flushing even redder.  “Sorry, I just _ — _ realized how weird that is.  Like.  Me, in general.  Weird.”

Yusei blinked, then he just laughed softly, and it was the nicest sound in the world.  He kissed Judai on the forehead.

“‘Being weird’ appears to be in both of our job descriptions,” he said with a smile.  “Besides...I love you because you’re weird.”

“Oh?  Is that the only reason?  You wouldn’t love me if I was a normie?”

“Judai, if we were normal, I’m not sure I’d recognize us.”

Judai laughed, pressing his face against Yusei’s chest for a moment, listening to his heartbeat.

He wanted to stay there forever, his ear against Yusei’s chest, Yusei’s arms wrapped lightly around him, the pair of them snuggled beneath a set of warm covers while the light filtered gently through the blinds.  It was a quiet, gentle morning to wake up to.  He didn’t want to get up...if he got up, the dream of last night would dissipate and he’d have to face reality again.

Somewhere outside, Judai felt something twitch.

And then a horrible, squeezing sensation, like gravity crunching inwards on itself, exploded just outside the house.

Judai was up in a flash, his heart in his throat.  Yusei leaped up at nearly the same time, as though he had sensed it too.  There was a brief struggle and swearing as the two of them haphazardly flung their clothes back on.  Judai was faster, staggering out of the room and nearly tripping and falling down the stairs, Yusei still dragging on his shirt as he bolted after him.

Judai punched his way through the doors.  He skidded to a brief stop, eyes clenched against the glare of the rising sun, flinging one hand up over his eyes to see _ — _

The air rippled with glimmers of thick, fractured light, as though heavy ripples of mist were bouncing off the walls of an invisible glass case in the shape of some kind of gem.  Inside the gemlike space, Judai could see warped shadows, barely visible through the frosted glass.  One of them was _ — _

_ “JOHAN!” _

Johan hung suspended in the air, shoved up against the invisible wall of glass.  Through the field Judai could see him clawing at his throat as though he were hanging by it, his legs kicking and flailing uselessly.

Immediately, scales slid out over Judai’s arms and legs, talons exploded free from his fingernails, his teeth lengthened into fangs and the scales grew all the way up his face in a second.  Yubel shrieking in the back of his head, he launched himself forwards.  

The shield, however, held, and he smacked against the invisible glass, reeling backwards.  Yusei caught him by the shoulders as he fell backwards.  For a moment, Judai’s head wrung from the impact, and he could only hang there and gasp.

“Oh fuck,” he heard Yusei choke out beside him.

This time, despite the mixture of panic and Yubel’s feral rage in his stomach, Judai took a moment to actually look at what was happening.

There was indeed some kind of transparent gem-like structure, a forcefield of some kind, surrounding a small bubble of space.  Johan hung in the air, pressed against the glass, held up by some strange looking, glowing creature that looked vaguely humanoid, but with a long bumpy tail that was wrapped around Johan’s throat.  Below Johan, however, he wasn’t the only one inside the bubble of space—Aki hadn’t been immediately visible, ducking behind a mass of writhing, thorny vines, her arms thrown up in front of her, face pale.

And across from her was that man, Harald, from the day before, his lips curling with disgust, and overhead—

Judai felt something in him choking, withering, at the  _ massive _ crackling presence of the half visible being hovering over Harald.  It looked like a gigantic old man, pale skinned with age marks scattered over the wrinkled skin, a long white beard growing from the chin.  It was clad in some ancient looking robes from a time and place long gone, gripping a golden staff that looked like a lightning bolt.  

Its eyes swung towards Judai, and he felt himself freezing up under the ancient, divine gaze, freezing him to the spot—

Yusei’s hands squeezed his shoulder so tightly that it immediately broke Judai free of the trance.  He ripped his eyes away from the spirit and turned his gaze instead to the glass wall—one of Johan’s he had to assume from the gem-like substance.

He punched it as hard as he could, but the impact only shook through him with a jarring rush.  It was only Yubel’s scales that prevented him from breaking his hand against it.

“Johan!” Judai screamed.  “Johan!”

“Aki!” Yusei shouted, banging his own hand against the glass.

Aki flinched on the other side, eyes wide as she spun around.  Her face went even whiter, and she started to shout, but somehow, Judai couldn’t hear her though he could see her lips moving.  She was waving them back, as though telling them to go back inside, to get away.  Judai wasn’t fucking moving.

Harald’s eyes flashed and stared through the glass, resting on Judai and Yusei.

The ancient spirit over his head raised its staff, and a huge pulse ripped from it, like a ripple of sound through the air.  It left Judai briefly deaf, and all at once, he saw Aki’s vines wither, Johan’s shield shattered, and the creature choking him released him, sending him tumbling to the ground.

Judai gasped, his ears popping back into sound, and he began to shoot forwards towards Johan and Aki—when he realized that his scales were gone.

_ Fuck _ , Judai thought with a cold seeping through him.   _ That thing just erased my powers. _

He didn’t know how long that creature’s ability would last, but in the meantime, he had to find something else he could do.  He grabbed Yusei’s wrist and yanked him out of the way, just before the world seemed to crunch in around them.  He felt bile rise up in his throat, seeing the way the air pinched, the light bending inwards in the place they had been a moment ago.

_ Gravity, _ he thought.   _ It’s trying to crush us. _

Harald was no longer paying any attention to Johan, gasping desperately for air on the ground, or Aki, who was ripping her hair loose from its pin.  Instead, he was advancing on Yusei and Judai, his eyes hard as flint and flashing—one of his eyes was glowing with some kind of strange symbol inside it, and Judai felt power pulsing out of his eye.  He winced, grabbing the side of his head with one hand.

“What the  _ hell _ ?” he shouted.  He needed to buy time.  He needed to buy time until his powers came back.  “Our duel is tonight!  What the fuck are you trying to do?”

Harald did not rise to the bait.  He snapped his fingers, and the great being above him raised its staff again.  Judai yanked on Yusei again, flinging him hard to the side so that he hit the ground and skidded.  He threw himself to the other side, just in time to dodge the next pinching in of air and light.

He had to do something to get rid of that creature.  He didn’t recognize the spirit himself, it wasn’t one that he had met or heard of before, but it was certainly ancient, powerful—nearly on the same divine level as the gods he had once faced years upon years ago, when he had slipped back in time to play a duel against Mutou Yugi.

_ There are many gods in the spirit world that sleep for millennia _ , he thought.   _ These ones must not have been awake when I was traveling. _

But they were still spirits, and he was still the Supreme King.  He didn’t need his powers to let his eyes slide from brown to gold.

The god hesitated a moment, pausing in raising its staff.  Huge, ancient, inhuman eyes stared down at him, meeting his gaze.

_ Who are you? _ Judai demanded as he opened up a link between himself and the spirit.   _ Why are you attacking us? _

For a moment, the spirit did not respond.

_ You are young, aren’t you, to be the Supreme King _ , it said, voice rattling and booming in Judai’s mind so loudly he thought his ears would bleed.   _ But by custom and courtesy, I shall answer.  I am Odin, Father of the Aesir _ .   _ I fight to maintain the world. _

_ By killing us?? _

Odin seemed to consider this.  Then its mind cracked open a memory, letting Judai see a brief image.  He saw through Odin’s eyes: Harald, sitting on a chair with a book in his lap, head resting against his fingers.  Then a ripple, passing over him, a pair of them, syncing black and white, shuddering his soul, causing him to drop his book from his lap and streak to his feet, face going white.  Judai felt a strange, eerie sensation after the ripple had passed over him, a sense like ice cracking under his feet at the same time as the feeling of satisfaction from when a puzzle fits back together.

He felt a horrible twist in his own stomach as Odin’s memory confirmed what he had sensed, what he had thought that was.

_ ReBalancing.  That....that was the sense of something nearly ReBalancing.... _

He shuddered, shaking, mouth dry.  The time...the time that that memory would have happened, that might have been at the same time that he and Yusei...when their minds synced up during...

_ Why don’t you want the ReBalancing?  _ Judai thought, though he felt a coldness just thinking about it himself, about Yliaster’s attempts to force the world into something new and what those attempts had caused.  Could...could he and Yusei have nearly almost fucked up the entire world somehow, by accident??

_ It is unnatural.  It comes about from human meddling.  It must not be allowed to pass. _

_ But spirits meddling, that’s okay?? _

Judai just wanted to understand, he wanted to know what was happening.  Harald was trying to kill them before they could reach their match, because he had decided it was too dangerous for them to live.  But Judai didn’t know why.  He couldn’t understand, he didn’t know how to.

Odin, however, was already drawing away from him.

_ Custom dictates I no longer need speak to you. _

Goddamn these pedantic gods.  Judai broke from the link and darted backwards.  The exchange seemed like it had taken hours, but he knew it had only been a handful of seconds to the outside.  Now, if they didn’t figure out something quick, they’d all be killed.

A heat bubbled and boiled suddenly from behind Judai, and he gasped, looking back over his shoulder.

Lua was gripping onto Yusei’s back, face buried into his jacket, a thick haze of crimson heat rolling off of him.  Yusei’s arm glowed with the symbol of his Signer ability; in front of Judai, Aki’s arm was glowing too, and Lua’s symbol glowed as well, though it was nearly lost to the thick red glow that rose off of Lua’s skin.

The door burst open, and Crow appeared with Luka clinging to his arm, Jack right on their heels.  Their symbols were glowing, too, faces in varying shades of pale and angry.  Judai almost spoke, but he wasn’t sure what he was going to say before Lua let out a faint gasp.

Light congealed off of Lua’s body, dripping down to the ground like a pool of glowing crimson water.  Yusei gasped as his Signer symbol vanished from his arm, and then the others each vanished from the arms of the others, turning into sparkling lights that shot to Lua and then dripped into the pool.

The pool exploded upwards in a rippling column, then and an eerie, ancient cry echoed from the Crimson Dragon, appearing in a ray of light with wings spread wide and curling its huge body around each of them between them and Odin.  Harald froze in midstep, eyes flashing.

The Crimson Dragon came to a rest, head held high with body snaked around them all like a glowing shield.  Judai could only barely see the shape of Harald through its rippling body.  For a few moments, there was simply a staredown, the Dragon staring at Odin, and Odin staring back.  

Then the dragon’s maw opened, and it spoke—but the voice didn’t come out of the dragon.  It came out of Lua.

_ “These are mine,” _ Lua said in a voice that wasn’t his, a voice that seemed to rattle his entire tiny body as he gripped hard to Yusei’s jacket and Yusei tried to support him.   _ “Don’t touch them.” _

Harald’s lips pressed together, staring at the dragon rather than at Lua.  Then he huffed softly, and Odin vanished from view.

“There’s only so long that an echo can protect you,” he said, eyes dropping back down to Yusei and Judai.  “We’ll settle it on the battlefield after all.”

The Crimson Dragon let out another faint, echoing cry, and a rumbling sound in the back of its throat.  But it did not vanish until Harald had turned and walked out of sight, and only then did it flicker and fade from the air.

Lua’s glow disappeared, and he fell.  Luckily, Yusei was right there to catch him, but it was clear that he was already unconscious.

For a few moments, no one moved or spoke.  Judai felt himself slumping over again.  

Well, he thought.  Back to hell, I guess.

*    *    *

Lua slept against Yusei’s side.  He was sleeping gently, so Yusei hadn’t attempted to wake up after bringing him back inside.

He could hear Aki protesting quietly in the kitchen while Asuka checked her injuries from the fight with Harald.   _ I’m fine, I’m fine, check on Johan, I’m okay, don’t fuss over me, sensei. _

Johan, meanwhile, was sitting on another chair while Manjoume fussed over him instead, wincing when Manjoume made him turn his head up to see the damage to his throat.  There was a nasty looking bruise forming there, not to mention all the cuts and scrapes from getting tossed around.

“What the hell  _ happened _ ,” Jack said finally.

The room fell briefly silent.  Johan let out a faint hiss of pain when Manjoume poked him in the side, at which point Manjoume frowned at him and muttered something about  _ stop lying about the extent of your injuries _ .

Johan put hand on Manjoume’s shoulder to gently move him away for a moment, wincing as he moved.

“Aki-chan and I were on watch this morning,” Johan said.  “Harald showed up.  He demanded we hand over Judai, Yusei, and Lua.  I said no.”

He bit his lip, looking down.

“I tried to keep him contained, so that he couldn’t get into the house around us...but...” He shuddered.  “Odin isn’t a creature to deal with lightly.  Even Rainbow Dragon was having trouble, and with his other spirits...I got overwhelmed.”

“I’m sorry,” Aki said, her voice quiet but clearly frustrated.  “I couldn’t do anything...Black Rose wasn’t strong enough.”

“Gods aren’t something anyone can deal with lightly,” Judai said, sounding bitter.  “It seems like the spirits have chosen sides in this goddamn war too.”

He looked pale where he leaned against the wall, arms folded tightly against his chest.  Yusei wanted to stand up, walk over to him, hold him as tightly as he could.  Whatever had happened during that fight had shaken Judai, and Yusei wasn’t sure what.  He curled his arm a little tighter around Lua.  Lua...that was another thing that had shaken him, at the very least.  The sound of the Crimson Dragon’s voice ripping out of a human throat that wasn’t meant to contain it...he hoped Lua was all right.

“All we can do is fight them,” Yusei said softly.  “That’s all we can do.  We just have to fight them and win.”

The others were quiet, but he could see Crow and Jack both nodding, could see Luka curling up her fists and setting her jaw.  Shou folded his arms, Asuka closed her eyes, Aki’s lips pressed together.  Bruno’s fingers tapped rapidly against the desk, but he, too, looked determined.

Yusei looked for Judai, and found that Judai was already looking at him.  Judai looked a bit pale, but slowly, he nodded too.

“We’ll win,” Yusei said.  “And we’ll prove to them that we are not their enemies.”

Judai’s tongue flicked out over his lips, and Yusei could see the faint tremble starting in his arms.  He swallowed.

“Johan,” he said suddenly, softly, his eyes not moving from Yusei’s.  “You were in the Order of the Stars.  Do you think Yusei and I are dangerous?  Do you think they’re right, that the world shouldn’t be saved?”

His voice shook, and Yusei wondered if he really believed any of that, or if he just desperately wanted validation.  Yusei felt his own heart clench and wondered the same about himself.

For a moment, Johan didn’t respond.

“Harald and the others think the universe shouldn’t be meddled with,” he said softly.  “That if it’s going to die, we should let it.”

He looked down at his knees.

“But I don’t think anyone ever asked...what if the universe _ wants _ to be saved?”

Yusei thought suddenly, inexplicably, about the white world with the white being that had pushed Shooting Star Dragon into his hands.  He curled up one hand into his lap.

“If that’s the case,” Johan said quietly.  “Then I think you two can do it.  That maybe it wanted you two to be here, to save it.”

Lua shifted in Yusei’s grip, but did not awaken.  Yusei gently drew him up a little closer.

_ What if the universe  _ wants _ to be saved _ ?

Five hours until the duel with Team Ragnarok.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so I actually updated on time for once ;w; thank you to everyone for your patience on this work, fingers crossed I'm going to be able to keep up with weekly updates, but they might be a little bit shorter of chapters than my previous updates just so I can stay on top of things. This chapter was supposed to have two more scenes, but I decided to move them to next chapter so that I can get this update up on time.
> 
> Thank you again so much for your patience and I hope you'll keep reading as I do my best to make sure this story reaches a conclusion <3


	34. Bootes

“And with this, we are kicking off the long awaited  _ semi-finals _ of the first ever World Racing Grand Prix!  Coming into the stadium now are your current competitors, who will fight for one of the final spots!  Please welcome, Team 5Ds and Team Ragnarok!”

The crowd  _ roared _ as the motorcycles exploded into the ring.  Behind the rippling cheers of the crowd, the announcer was introducing each member of the team as, one at a time, they all pulled in through the great doors, zooming once past the starting line before pulling around into their respective pit stop lanes to their sides of the track.

Judai, however, was only paying half attention to those sounds, his full attention saved for the pit, for Yusei and the others.  He hurried over as Yusei came in, pulling off his helmet and breathing out in a rush.  When Judai got close enough, he reached for his hand and squeezed it.

“Plan?” Judai said.

“We talked it over, decided to keep it same as always.  We don’t know much about Ragnarok, so...Jack’s first, to do as much damage as possible.  Crow second.  I’m at the end for any last clean up.  Your end?”

Judai nodded before responding.

“Manjoume stayed back at the house with Johan; he’s overdrawn from that fight and Manjoume didn’t think he should move.  Asuka and Shou are outside the stadium to watch for any random outliers.  Everyone else is here.”

Crow came in behind Yusei, then, and Jack was a few minutes behind.  The crowd still hummed with the excitement, but it was only making Judai tense.  Yusei squeezed his hand a little tighter, reassuring.

Crow sighed as he pulled off his helmet, running a hand through his hair.

“Goddamn, I never thought there would be a time when I didn’t like this atmosphere,” he said.  “I’m getting all jittery.”

“We don’t have time for that,” Jack said sourly.

Crow punched him in the shoulder, and Jack swore at him.  It would have been the kind of thing Judai would have cracked a smile at any other time, but he was too tense.  He could almost sense the feeling of Harald and his partners staring at them from the other side of the lane.  The stakes had always been high before but...this was the first team in this tournament that was legitimately trying to kill them, instead of some outside force.

After what had happened this morning, Judai had no doubt that if they lost, Harald and the others would kill all of them.

He heard shoes scuffing across the ground behind them, pulling him from his thoughts.  Aki, Lua, Luka, and Bruno had come up from the pit console to join them.  Aki passed off the relay patch to Jack, who nodded sharply before slapping it onto his shoulder.  For a second, then, all of them just stood there, quietly staring at each other.

“Wow,” Crow finally said.  “This isn’t even the last match, and we’re already looking somber.”

“It does feel like we’re about to fight the final boss somehow,” Judai said.  “Even though I know if we get past this, there’s a lot more to deal with still.”

“We can handle it,” Jack said, brow furrowing stubbornly.  “All of you are being so dramatic.”

“Says the most dramatic one here,” Aki said, rolling her eyes.  “Don’t get yourself knocked out in one blow, Jack.”

Jack flipped her off, and Aki, surprisingly, returned the gesture with a half grin.

Luka clasped her hands together in front of her, looking pale and nervous.

“Please be safe, everyone,” she said, and both Jack and Aki quickly softened.  Jack reached out over his handlebars to pat Luka on the head.

“Don’t you worry,” he said.  “We’ll handle this.”

“We always pull through,” Yusei said with a smile.  “Because we’re always fighting together.  With everyone’s help, there’s no way we can lose.”

Luka smiled hesitantly, but she still looked nervous.

“We can do it!” Lua said, punching the air and immediately looking winded from the motion.  Judai hadn’t wanted Lua to come but...he had been insistent.  He wouldn’t be left out.  “We’re all together now, right??  And look!!”

He proudly extended his right arm.  Impressed on his skin like a faint tattoo was the heart-like shape that had appeared before, when he had seemingly summoned the Crimson Dragon to defend them.

“I’m a Signer now too, which means!! The whole team is together!”

Judai felt Yusei’s arm twitch to his own mark, and saw the others glance at or reach for their own arms where their marks were hidden underneath sleeves or gloves.  Yusei smiled, then, nodding.

“That’s right,” he said, ruffling Lua’s hair.  “We’re all a team, and we’re all going to be out there fighting together.”

He put his hand out, and after a beat, Lua jumped up and put his on top of Yusei’s.  Aki reached out to add her hand on top, then Crow hopped off of his bike to reach.  Jack snorted, but he, too, reached across his handlebars to add his hand to the circle, and Luka reached up to join them.  Judai hesitated a moment, but Yusei smiled at him and nodded, and Judai joined in.  Bruno hesitated a second longer than Judai before tentatively placing his hand on top of everyone else’s.

“We’re not alone,” Yusei said.  “Let’s never forget that.”

“Right,” Judai said, smiling. 

“Now let’s kick some butt!” Crow said.

Lua let out a whoop, and then everyone threw their hands upward together.  

_ “Team 5Ds first runner, please report to the starting line.” _

Jack huffed, leaning back onto his bike and revving it once.

“You sappy people are going to make us miss the start,” he said.  He revved the bike again, and the others split to give him room.  The bike pealed forward, out and around towards the starting line.  For a moment, everyone hesitated, letting the roar of the bike and the crowd settle in.

Then Aki let out a sharp breath, grabbing her headset off of her arm and jamming it onto her ears.

“Well, let’s not sit and stare at each other,” she said.  “Let’s get started!”

Judai suddenly noticed the strange, pensive look on Luka’s face.  He frowned.

“Luka?  You okay?”

Luka startled out of her thoughts.

“I just thought of something I need to tell Jack!” she said.  “I’ll be right back!”

She scurried away towards the side of the pit.  Aki blinked, and nearly reached after her.

“Luka, you can talk to him on the headset...” she started, but Luka was already gone.  Aki shook her head.

“Let’s get to out positions!!” Lua said, hurrying back to the pit.

Judai reached for Yusei’s hand one last time, squeezing it.

“We’ve got this, right?” he said.

Yusei squeezed his hand back.

“We’ve got this.”

*    *    *

Jack checked the readouts on his D-Wheeler screen, reaching up to tweak at a setting before he loaded his deck in.  He hesitated with the newest card, glancing at the shiny white surface.  Then he slipped it neatly into his extra deck and set that deck into its slot.  He heard the roar of the bike even over the crowd as his opponent appeared, drawing up to the starting line beside him.

The man touched his visor button, making the glass slide up out of his eyes.  He had a sour looking face.  Jack scowled in a response to the man’s own scowl.  What even was his name again?  Something about him seemed familiar.  He glanced upwards towards the projected screen above, where the competitor’s faces were being shown, to find his name. Dragan.  It sounded vaguely familiar, like something he might have come across in a magazine once.

“Do you remember me, Jack Atlas?” Dragan asked, and Jack glanced back down at him.

“If you’re referring to the day you and your friends decided to threaten us, of course I do,” Jack said.

“Not from that,” Dragan said, nearly spitting.  He seemed a very unpleasant man, Jack thought.  Probably a bit taller than Jack was, with a square face, dark narrow eyes, and his long black hair with one yellow streak down the middle shoved into his helmet, half of it still falling down his back.  “Two years ago.  I dueled you when you were the king.”

“I dueled a lot of people when I was the king,” Jack said.

“Did you know that most of your opponents were forced to throw the duel against you?”

Jack’s hands tightened against the handlebars.  He looked away from Dragan.

“Your skills are a lie, Jack Atlas,” Dragan said, sliding his visor back down.  “And I’m going to prove that I would have beaten you had I not been  _ blackmailed _ into losing.”

Jack snorted, but it was more smoke and mirrors to disguise his hands shaking slightly.  

“So you’re turning the fight for the world into a personal problem?” he snarled through his teeth.

“It just happens to be a benefit.  I get to clean up some trash that’s messing with the world, and dethrone you from your delusions of grandeur at the same time.”

Jack’s lip curled and he turned his eyes back towards the field.  The countdown began and he started up his engines to drown out any other bullshit the man had to share.

The countdown hit one.  Wheel of Fortune exploded forward, zipping out well ahead of Dragan’s D-Wheeler.  Jack let the roar of the crowd fade to a distant hum beneath the wheels of his motorcycle.  It was child’s play to keep ahead of Dragan, and he crossed the first marker first.

“I’ll be going first!” he said, drawing his first hand.

He frowned, blinking down at the cards that he slid into their holder.  No, this was...incredibly familiar.  He glanced into his rearview mirror to see where Dragan was at.  His skin crawled briefly.  No, he  _ did _ remember this...he remembered Dragan, now.  A Nordic Beast user, someone he had dueled a long, long time ago...and this was nearly the exact same hand he had played back then, too.

Dragan’s D-Wheeler pulled up alongside Jack, and their eyes briefly met through their visors.

“Looks like I have the same hand as last time,” Dragan said, voicing echoing in Jack’s ear piece..  “And judging by your look, so do you.”

He grinned, then, and it was a vicious expression.

“It seems fate really did want me to destroy you, after all.”

“I don’t believe in fate.  Save it for if you win!” Jack snapped, drawing ahead.  “I draw!  I normal summon Top Runner in attack mode!”

The robot monster appeared in a flash of light beside him, zipping along on its hover boots.

“I set two cards and end my turn!”

“Your first turn is even the same,” Dragan laughed.  “If you keep this up, I’ll defeat you the way I would have back then.  My turn, draw!”

Dragan pulled ahead of Jack this time, and Jack let him, the better to see what he was going to do.

“I normal summon Garmr of the Nordic Beasts in attack position!”

A huge red wolf leaped free of the ground, hitting the pavement at a run to gallop alongside Dragan.  Eight hundred attack points.  Not enough to deal with Top Runner’s eleven hundred.

“I’ll set a card and end my turn!”

_ “Jack, he’s likely setting up for a trap,” _ Yusei’s voice came in through his headset.

“I’m not an idiot, Yusei,” Jack said.  “My turn!  Draw!”

He glanced at his next card.  Excellent.  He’d deal with this in a matter of moments.

“I normal summon Power Breaker!”

His next monster, animalistic and feral, roared as it appeared beside Top Runner.

“I tune Power Breaker with Top Runner!”

Top Runner turned into the glowing green gates of a Synchro summon, and Power Breaker into stars.  The stars shot through the gates as Jack felt the heat spreading through his chest like a fire lighting under his heart.

“The heartbeat of the king now makes a line here: take witness to its creation-shaking power!  Synchro Summon— appear, Red Dragon Archfiend!”

The familiar, sparking presence of his dragon filled the duel lane as Archfiend exploded into existence.  Heat and embers rolled off of its scales, mouth bubbling up with flames as it roared.

“Let’s see if that fate of yours is any good,” Jack said.  “Red Dragon Archfiend, attack Garmr!”

The wolf wheeled on Red Dragon Archfiend, meeting its advance with raised hackles and snarling fangs.  It would be no match for Archfiend, however, and the dragon roared as it raised its fist back to strike.

“This is the card that would have defeated you, Jack Atlas,” Dragan shouted.  “I activate my face down card: Nordic Relic: Brisingamen!”

The card flipped upwards, and in a flash of light, Garmr was suddenly clad in an ornate golden necklace with heavy green jewels.

“When the monster equipped with this card is attacked, my monster’s attack becomes the same as its attacker!” Dragan said.  “And if my monster destroys yours and sends it to the Graveyard, you’ll take damage equal to its attack!”

Jack’s lip curled and he bore down on his bike, coming up alongside Archfiend.

“I activate my trap: Reaction Summon!  Since your monster’s attack was changed, I can special summon one level four or lower monster from my graveyard.  Come back, Top Runner!”

Top Runner appeared in another flash and sparkle, zooming along the ground.

“Top Runner gives all Synchro monsters on my field an extra six hundred attack points!”

Top Runner spun incredible quickly, sending off shards of light.  The light caught in Archfiend’s scales, and it roared, completing its strike on Garmr.  The wolf howled as it exploded into shards, leaving Archfiend untouched.

Dragan huffed softly.

“Not bad, Jack Atlas: it would have indeed been too little to defeat you right here.  But I know your deck and your strategies, and I know that it is impossible for you to win.”

He pulled a card from his hand before Jack could respond.

“Since my monster was destroyed, I can special summon Tanngnjostr in defense position.”

A hefty looking ram monster appeared, goat-eyes leering at Jack as it settled down into a defensive position.   Same defense points as Top Runner’s attack.  That would be fine.

“To prevent Top Runner from being destroyed by Archfiend’s effect, I’ll have Top Runner attack Tanngnjostr,” Jack said.  As his monster bounced harmlessly off of the ram, he reached for his hand.  “I set a card and end my turn.”

Dragan drew his next card and nodded sharply.

“This next turn will spell your end, Jack Atlas,” he said.  “The monster that resides in my deck will make short work of you.”

“Less talking, and more dueling,” Jack snapped back at him.

Dragan only smirked.

“I switch Tanngnjostr to attack position!” he said.  “When its position changes, I can special summon a Nordic Beast from my deck.  Come forth, Tanngrisnir!”

A second goat-like monster appeared, this one white as snow with long, slightly curving horns.

“And since you have a Synchro monster on the field, I can special summon Guldfaxe from my hand!”

This beast was a horse, whinnying as it burst forward and began to ran alongside its compatriots, black with a lighting yellow mane and burning red eyes.  Jack swore softly.  That one was a Tuner.  He knew exactly what was coming next.

“I tune Tanngnjostr and Tanngrisnir with Guldfaxe!” Dragan shouted.  “When the door to the world opens, the ancient war god will raise up his magical hammer!  Shake the earth and appear with the roaring thunder!  Synchro summon!”

Oh  _ shit _ .  Jack’s hair all raised on end all the way up the back of his neck.  He could feel the air drying out, thinning, could feel the static crawling down his skin.  A heaviness pressed down on his shoulders and chest, making it harder to breathe.  All at once, the sky was going dark, black clouds swirling steadily inwards until the entirety of the blue sky was cut off, clouds bubbling with faint flickers of lightning.

“Descend!  Thor, Lord of Aesir!”

The clouds parted to let the massive god through, sinking down through the clouds and appearing in a rush of lightning.

It was  _ massive _ , not just in height, but in breadth.  While human in shape, it was certainly nothing of the sort, muscles bulging along its arms and beneath its armor.  It carried a massive hammer in one hand, big enough that it could have flattened Jack and his motorcycle in one strike.

“Thor’s effect activates!  Once per turn, I can negate one monster’s effect on the field, and that effect then becomes Thor’s!  I select Top Runner as my target!”

Jack swore again, as Thor lifted its hammer and lighting struck the top.  The lighting exploded down across Thor’s skin and hit the ground, jumping in arcs to hit Top Runner.  The lightning seemed to suck all of the color out of Top Runner, and it slumped in the air.  Electricity retreated back along the ground to Thor, and the creature let out a reverberating battle cry.

“Thor’s effect now gives it six hundred attack,” Dragan said.  “Slay his miserable dragon, Lord of Aesir!”

Archfiend flung itself in between Jack and Thor, roaring without the faintest hint of fear.  Thor’s hammer struck hard although Archfiend tried to catch it in its talons, and then it let out a faint cry as it exploded and vanished into shards.  Jack’s D-Wheel shook and wobbled, nearly spinning out from the excess electricity before he managed to get his balance back.  Archfiend had shielded him from most o the lightning, however, which noticed with some unease that it lingered against the pavement before vanishing.

He had assumed as much, but this was the confirmation.  They may not be psychic duelists, but their gods and the damaged they caused were real.

“I’ll set two cards and end my turn,” Dragan said.  “Thor’s effect ends with the turn.”

Thor’s attack reduced again, although thirty five hundred attack points was still nothing to ignore.

_ “Jack, are you okay?” _ Crow’s voice came through.

“I’m fine,” Jack said, trying not to grumble. In truth, he could feel the slight electrical burns that had reached his hands, and he was wincing when he reached for his cards.

“If you couldn’t beat me before, you can’t beat me now, Jack Atlas,” Dragan said.  “Not when I have a god in my deck.”

Jack winced as he drew his next card, glancing briefly at it.  He couldn’t do much with this....

“Face it, Jack!  Any skills you thought you had were faked, Godwin had every duelist throw against you— you never won on your own power!  You can’t win!”

Jack grit his teeth.   _ Shut up _ , he thought.   _ Shut up, shut  _ up _. _

Were...were his hands shaking?  His hand was definitely shaking, where it held his next card. A very uncharacteristic thought slithered through his mind.

_ What if Dragan is right? _

The lane sped back towards the starting line, shooting towards the pit stop.  Jack lifted his eyes upwards, glancing briefly across the pit stop.  He could see the rest of his team in a brief blur as he streaked past, not enough time to meet any of their gazes— just barely enough time to see the glint of light across glasses and shine of long black hair.

He was past again before he could completely comprehend what that meant.  But his heart beat had quickened far beyond the initial adrenaline, and his hand had stopped shaking.  He put his card into the hand holder and then pressed his fingers to his headset.

“Carly?” he said softly.  “Carly, are you there?”

He heard a brief fumbling on the other end, the scrape of headphones behind shoved onto a head.

_ “Jack?  Jack, yes it’s me.  I’m here.” _

Jack closed his eyes briefly before turning back to the lane.

“You shouldn’t be here.  You’re still weak.”

_ “I’m fine, Jack.  I promise.  I wanted...I wanted to make sure I was here, in person, for once.  So that I could support you and cheer you on.” _

Jack felt a faint smile grow over his lips.  He nodded, even though Carly couldn’t see it.

“Hmph.  You’re reckless,” he said.

_ “Look who’s talking,” _ Carly mumbled, and Jack actually laughed softly.

“I’m going to win, Carly.”

Carly laughed a bit.

_ “Of course you are, Jack!” _

Jack revved his engine, and pulled forward.  The pressure nearer to the god was heavy, thick, like driving through molasses, but he pushed forward until he reached Dragan’s side, glancing across at him.  He switched his headset back to opponent mode.

“Why did you throw against me?” he said.

Dragan blinked, lips parting.  For a moment, he only stared at Jack— then his lips curled and he snorted.

“Now you care?” he said.  “Your dear manager, Godwin, promised to pay for my father’s medical bills, but only if I lost to you.”

Jack nodded.  He wondered, briefly, how many others that Godwin had threatened in similar ways.  It was a little disconcerting, thinking about all of the people he had never actually beaten.

His hands tightened on his handlebars.  But, he thought.  Didn’t that just mean he had more opponents to face for real?

“You destroyed my pride, Jack Atlas, and I’ll take it back,” Dragan said.

Jack snorted, and it came out as a laugh.  Dragan stared at him with some disbelief as Jack’s laugh grew a little louder, shaking his shoulders.  He got control of himself before he lost his handling of Wheel of Fortune.

“If you have something you want to protect,” he said.  “You’ll do it at any means necessary.  Pride has no place in that.”

Dragan blinked, and then his face contorted with anger.

“I won’t let you just let this world end, Dragan,” Jack said.  “Not as long as I have someone in it to protect.”

He turned to his hand.

“I switch Top Runner to defense position, and summon Barrier Resonator, also in defense position,” he said.  “I set one card and end my turn.”

“If you think I’m going to believe  _ Jack Atlas _ is an altruist now, you’re mistaken,” Dragan snarled, drawing a card.  “And for such big words, you had a disappointing turn.  I activate Thor’s effect again, negating and stealing Top Runner’s effect!”

Thor’s hammer let out another dizzying streak of lightning, and Jack flinched as static shocked his arms.  He pulled his D-Wheel out of range of the lightning.

“Then I activate my face down Nordic Relic Mjollnir!” Dragan said.

Thor reached out a hand, and a second hammer appeared in his palm.  Unlike the large, sleek metal of the first, this one was made of rough hewn, copper colored stone, its face seemingly made of solid amber.

“The monster this is equipped to gets to attack twice, and it deals one thousand points of damage for every monster it destroys,” Dragan said.  “Eliminate his defense, Thor!”

Thor raised both hammers at once, and Jack swore, swerving out of the way.

He was only barely in time: both hammers smashed into his monsters, sending twin bursts of lightning around them in an arc.  He nearly screamed as the lightning ripped through him, bike wobbling.  He struck against the side of the lane and sparks flew for a moment as his bike dragged against it, before he swerved back into place.

“You’re done to nine hundred life points,” Dragan said.  “And your field is empty.”

Dragan still had thirty four hundred life points: this was going to be tricky.

He could hear Carly and the others calling to him through the headset, but he couldn’t answer them now.

“I activate my trap,” he coughed, his voice suddenly hoarse.  “Tuner’s Reflect!  I special summon the tuners destroyed this turn and deal damage equal to their total attack points!”

Barrier Resonator and Top Runner reappeared, and a pulse of energy spread out from them.  Dragan barely even flinched as his life points fell to two thousand.

“I can respect your efforts, if nothing else,” Dragan said, smirking.  “I’ll set a card and end my turn.”

Gasping for breath, Jack reached for his next card.  He glanced over it, and a smile spread over his lips.

“Carly,” he said.  “I’m going to win.”

_ “You don’t have to keep saying the obvious,” _ Carly said, though her voice sounded tense.

“I activate my face down card: Descending Lost Star!  I can special summon Red Dragon Archfiend from my graveyard in defense mode with its effect negated, zero defense, and one less level!  Come back to the field, my soul!”

Archfiend soared triumphantly free of the graveyard, roaring menacingly.

“You’re not the only one with a new monster in your deck,” Jack said.  “I double tune Archfiend with Barrier Resonator and Top Runner!”

“Double tuning??” Dragan said, eyes widening.

Jack thrust one hand into the air as the summon gates appeared.

“The King and the Devil, here and now shall become as one!  Savage soul!  Lift up the very cries of Creation itself! Synchro Summon!”

He felt the heat washing over him, burning, incredible fire that exploded from his chest, like the day that he had found the dragon waiting in his soul when he and Carly had escaped her mindscape together.

“Appear, Red Nova Dragon!”

His dragon descended through the swirling black clouds, red and glowing like living embers.  It cried out in a low, angry screech, flames licking up its arms.

“Red Nova gains five hundred attack for every tuner in my gravyard: that’s a total of one thousand!”

Red Nova roared as the ghosts of the tuners he had used to summon it appeared briefly before sinking beneath its scales.  Forty five hundred attack points— that should be enough to defeat Thor.

“Not so fast!” Dragan said.  “I activate both of my traps!”

His cards flipped upwards.

“First, Raging Sacred Curse!  Red Nova loses two thousand attack, and it cannot be affected by your own spells and traps!”

Nova roared angrily, but its wings dropped as the curse fell upon it, causing it to droop in the sky.

“Then Solemn Authority!  Thor is immune to all spells and traps for the next two turns!”

A pale light enveloped Thor like a shield, lightning sparking from its eyes.  Dragan smirked at him again over his shoulder from up ahead where he was still speeding along.

“Some good that monster did you,” Dragan said.  “Didn’t I tell you?  I would have won last time, so I know your strategies: you want to use a trap to save Red Nova or get rid of Thor, but that won’t happen!”

Jack inhaled onced.  The entire world seemed to slow down as he breathed, going quiet and faint.  He exhaled, and the world cleared again.

“Dragan,” he said.  “Perhaps you would have beaten me back then under different circumstances.”

Dragan leveled his eyes at Jack, some confusion and curiosity tugging his lips downward.

“But that’s not what will happen today,” he said.  “Because you’re not just fighting me.  I’m not dueling alone.”

He pulled the card from his hand and held it up.

“When I have less than one thousand life points, I can special summon this from my hand: come forth, Fortune Resonator!”

The tiny resonator monster appeared, black cloak flapping and tiny fairy like wings buzzing.

“Next, my trap: Burning Prayer!  When my life points are lower than my opponent’s, I can synchro summon using a tuner on the field and a material in the graveyard!”

Dragan swore.

“I tune Red Dragon Archfiend in the graveyard with Fortune Resonator!” Jack said.

This was a much different presence from Archfiend or Red Nova.  It was...softer.  It felt like dewdrops collecting on his skin, curling up like a breath in his chest.  He felt his arm burn slightly where his mark was, and he felt the faint curling of claws around his hand, soft and gentle.

“At the gates of life, the holy mist snakes forth to envelop its comrades— Synchro summon!  Appear, Pixie Veil Dragon!”

Pixie Veil appeared with much less fanfare than the others.  It came as a mist, first, which swirled into life and then condensed, a shape coming free from it.  The mist became its long, swirling mane, and the dragon appeared then, letting off an eerie cry.  Compared to Red Nova, it was tiny, barely the size of one of Nova’s wings.

They shot past the pit stop again, and Jack smiled as he saw Luka out of the corner of his eyes, jumping up and down and waving her arms with a huge smile on her face.  Dragan swore.

“Where did you...” he started.

“I told you.  You’re taking on the whole team here,” Jack said.  “Pixie Veil’s effect activates: as long as she’s on the field, none of my monsters can be affected by my opponent’s effects!”

Pixie Veil let out a melodic cry, and then her misty mane spread and dispersed, layering her and Red Nova in a silvery fog.  Red Nova roared, and its attack points shot back up to its original forty-five hundred.

“Her second effect!  By making her unable to attack this turn, I can add her attack points to one monster on my side of the field, and I choose Red Nova!”

Pixie Veil spread her wings, and a faint silver dust spread from them and onto Red Nova.  Red Nova’s attack shot up to sixty five hundred.

“This is the end for you,” Jack said.  “Red Nova Dragon!  Burning Soul!!”

Red Nova let out a violent roar.  Thor raised its hammer, but it wasn’t enough— the metal melted instantly upon contact with Red Nova’s flaming hands.  Thor pushed back for a mere moment, and then shattered.

Dragan cried out as his life points dropped to zero all in one shot.  Jack’s lips curled back in a grin.

“Thor’s other effect!” Dragan shouted.  “At the end phase when it’s destroyed, I can banish one Nordic Beast tuner from my graveyard to revive it and deal eight hundred points of damage to you!”

Jack swore.

Thor burst down from the clouds again, and the lightning scattered down across the ground.  Pixie Veil shrieked and spread her wings, dipping low over Jack to block most of the lightning.  Jack still swore at the shocks, as his life points dropped down to one hundred.

Dragan’s D-Wheeler slowed as his losing procedures began, and he limped the bike back towards the pit stop.  Jack inhaled, and exhaled.  One hundred life points left, two more opponents.  If they were all as strong as Dragan, even he couldn’t see himself lasting more than another turn.

“Sorry, Yusei,” he said.  “I think that might be about all I’ve got in me.”


	35. Aquarius

Crow’s hands tightened into the railing as he watched the next runner shoot out into the lane— on...on  _ top _ of his D-Wheel?

The man whooped, riding his D-Wheel like a skateboard and taking over for Dragan.  That was...Brave, Crow thought, looking up at the screen that introduced him.  What a fucking show off.  They were fighting for their lives out here and he seemed to be making it into a joke.  Jack wasn’t doing so well out there, either with only one hundred life points left...even with Luka’s support, it wasn’t likely he’d last much longer.  He was below the safety zone for Speed World 2.  If Brave had even one Speed Spell in his hand, he’d be able to use the effect of the field to deal Jack 800 points of damage and immediately finish him.

“All right,” Brave shouted.  “It’s my turn, Jack.  Get ready to get knocked out!”

He skidded along past Jack, still standing on his D-Wheel like a skateboard.  Crow had a feeling that if they weren’t in the middle of trying not to get killed, he would have been impressed, but instead, he was only pissed off.

“Hey Jack,” Brave shouted, his voice coming on the screens.  “I just drew a speed spell as my first card.  I could totally use Speed World 2.”

Luka choked softly beside Crow, and Crow made a bolt for his D-Wheel.  He’d need to switch out with Jack soon!

“But where’d the style be?” Brave laughed.  “First, I’ll set a card.  Then I’ll activate Nordic Relic Dáinsleif, equipping it to Thor!”

A long, elegant blade appeared in Thor’s other hand, and electricity danced along the edge.

“This makes it the same attack as your highest attack monster.  So it’s now the same attack points as Red Nova!”

What was he...

“Thor attacks Red Nova Dragon!”

Crow heard Jack swear in the headset as he jammed his helmet on his head in preparation.  He heard rather than saw the screeching Red Nova, struggling with the thunder god until they both went down.

“And then in my end phase, Thor revives, dealing you eight hundred points of damage, and that’s game!”

_ What a hopped up little shit _ , Crow thought.  He glowered at the screen, watching Brave plop the right way onto his D-Wheel finally, lightning skittering across the ground and dancing over Jack’s D-Wheel.  Pixie Veil shot over to him, enveloping him with her wings to shield him from the actual lightning, but Jack’s life points still went down.

Crow mounted his D-Wheel, revving it up.  A few moments later, a red-faced, sweaty Jack zipped up alongside him, ripping off the patch and slapping it onto Crow’s shoulder.  Crow didn’t hesitate to even nod at him, he just pealed off as soon as the patch was on his jacket.  He had a match to win and shit to do.

“All right, and now the real match starts,” Brave said as Crow came up along side him.  “Looking forward to it!”

“You’re...what?”

He was actually surprised at the cross eyed grin that Brave shot him.

“Sure! Might as well have fun with it, right?”

“You...are literally trying to kill us.”

“Don’t think too hard about it,” Brave laughed.  “Anyway!  Your turn!”

_ I’m gonna punch him _ , Crow thought.  The thought was very satisfying, and he turned his attention back to the duel.

Quickly, he glanced over his cards, his field, and what he had just drawn.  He still had Pixie Veil Dragon on the field from Jack’s turn, but other than that, no set cards.  They didn’t have the same airtight playing-off-of-each-other plan they had before with Yubel and Stardust, so Crow guessed he’d just have to wing it.

Good thing that’s what he did best.

“I’ll start off with the spell card, Blackwing Camaraderie!  All monsters on my side of the field are treated as Blackwings for this turn!”

Pixie Veil Dragon glowed faintly purple, the imprint of black feathers briefly overlaid over her wings like a ghost.

“Since Pixie Veil is counted as a Blackwing, that means I have a Blackwing on my field.  And that means I can normal summon Elphin the Raven without tributing!”

His monster bolted onto the field, massive black wings shimmering in the light above.  Crow heard the crowd roaring with approval, and allowed himself a faint smile.  They hadn’t seen anything yet.

“I can also special summon Gale the Whirlwind from my hand, and when it’s summoned, I can halve the attack and defense of one monster on the field!”

Gale appeared in a tornado, and then sliced its wings in Thor’s direction.  The air cut through Thor, taking him down to one knee as his attack went down to seventeen fifty.

“Finally, since the total levels of the Blackwings on my field are eight or more, I can special summon Calima the Haze!”

Calima was nothing but a breath of pink mist at first, until it spread and turned a little more opaque, taking the shape of a ghostly bird.

“Calima is a tuner monster!  I’m tuning it with Gale the Whirlwind!”

His monsters flashed into the familiar gates and stars, and he threw one hand into the air to call the monster down as the sky began to darken, almost in tandem with his summon.

“Darkened gales, become the wings which will soar to the heavens!  Synchro Summon!”

His monster descended through the sudden rush of wind and clouds, armor glinting like hardened carapace. 

“Appear, Blackwing Armor Master!”

His monster dipped and lowered, coming to a steady height beside Crow.  Brave let out a faint whistle, and Crow noted with some annoyance that the young man was now riding his motorcycle backwards.  Couldn’t he take this seriously, at least?

“Nice one,” Brave said, still grinning.  “Now show me what you’ve got!”

“I was already going to,” Crow said.  “Blackwing Armor Master, take out Thor!”

Armor Master was silent as it shot forward, striking Thor right through the heart with its sharpened claws.  The weakened god was no match for the fresh warrior, and it went down, sinking into the earth and vanishing.  It would revive at the end phase, but only if Crow allowed there to  _ be _ and end phase.

“Pixie Veil and Elphin still have an attack, and it’s more than your total life points!” Crow said.  “Pixie Veil, attack first!”

Pixie Veil raised her head up, mist sparkling with suddenly deadly edges.  The mist exploded forwards and briefly surrounded Brave.  For the briefest second, he actually looked sick, like he was going to choke on it.  But then it passed, and his life points dipped down once again.

“And now, Elphin—”

“Not so fast!” Brave said.  “I’ll activate my trap, The Golden Apples!  When I take a direct attack, I gain life points equal to what I lost, and then I get a Malus token equal to how much I regained!”

_ Shit _ , Crow thought.   _ So much for a one hit KO. _

From Brave’s trap, a creepy wisp of black and purple mist with glowing red eyes appeared.  Twenty five hundred attack points was nothing to sneeze at, and Elphin couldn’t take it.

“I’ll set two cards and end my turn,” Crow said.  “Your go!”

“First, during the end phase, Thor comes back!” Brave said.  “And you’ll be taking some damage!”

Crow grit his teeth, bracing himself for the impact of the clearly very real lightning while the god rose up through the earth once again.  Pixie Veil moved on her own, spreading her wings and guarding Crow from the actual strike, even though his life points went down to thirty two hundred.  That monster definitely seemed alive, he hadn’t been imagining it.  He was no psychic duelist so...was it like Judai’s Yubel, which was alive and real even without a psychic duelist?  No wait...because...Armor Master had moved on its own too, putting itself between Crow and the lightning.

Something was definitely getting weird, and he was feeling a kind of itch in the back of his head that he couldn’t figure out how to scratch.  He needed to focus on the duel anyway.

Brave used only his hands to pop himself up and flip himself back around to face forward on his D-Wheel.

“My turn, draw!” he called.  “All right!  First I’ll activate a spell from my hand and equip it to Thor: Tide of Ragnarok!”

A faint, shimmering veil seemed to ghost down around Thor’s shoulders, but nothing changed to his attack points.

“Now Thor can attack monsters twice in one turn!”

Crow gripped his handlebars, bracing for the impact.

“First, Malus Token: let’s get rid of that pesky dragon that’s protecting all of Crow’s monsters.  Malus Token attacks Pixie Veil for mutual destruction!”

Crow swore and braced himself again.   _ Sorry, Luka _ .

Pixie Veil flapped  her wings angrily, letting out a screaming keen as she struggled briefly with the dark mist.  The two both faded into their respective mists and then wisped out.

“And then Thor will make short work of your other two monsters: take ‘em out!”

Armor Master broke forwards to try and meet Thor’s hammer, but it was instantly shattered.  Elphin fought bravely, too, but it was no match for the second swipe.  Crow felt an actual impact rock through his bones, and he felt briefly like throwing up.  

_ I have nine hundred life points left and I’ve barely scratched him _ , he thought, frustration rocking through him.   _ I can’t get knocked out this easily!  Not when everyone else has been pulling their weight! _

“Since two Blackwings were destroyed this turn, I can special summon Brisote the Tailwind from my hand!” Crow said. 

His elegant bird warrior appeared with a rush of wind coming from behind Crow, ruffling his gloves briefly.

“Then I’ll activate my trap card, Black Return!  It sends Thor back to your Extra Deck and I get life points equal to its attack!”

If it was in the Extra Deck, it couldn’t keep reviving itself.  That was how he’d deal with it!

“Wow, that was a pretty smart move!” Brave said.  “But I can’t let Thor go down just yet, so I’m going to activate a counter trap: Nordic Relic Laevateinn!”

His card flipped face up and glowed briefly.

“This will destroy one monster on the field that’s destroyed a monster this turn, and I choose to destroy Thor!”

Crow briefly blanked on what he could possibly be doing, and then he swore.

“Of course, Thor will come back at the end phase, and do a little more chip damage,” Brave said, winking.  “So go ahead and end your turn!”

Crow swore.  He couldn’t do anything!”

“I end,” he said through gritted teeth.

“And Thor comes back!”

Lightning once again skittered over the ground, and this time, Crow had no monsters to shield him from the real life damage.  He bit down on his tongue as he tried not to scream, but the cry ripped out of him anyway.  His bike wobbled and skidded, nearly taking him down sideways.  He righted himself and sped forward, wincing.   _ One hundred life points.  How am I already at one hundred life points?? _

“You’re putting up a good fight, I’m just better,” Brave said.  “No shame in that!”

“Stop acting like this is just a fun time!” Crow shouted at him.  “You know what’s at stake here!”

“Do I?  All I know is that either way, I don’t really lose.”

Crow blinked, lips parting. 

Brave let his D-Wheel slow down a bit, so that the pair of them were side by side.  He swung one leg over the side of his D-Wheel so that he was riding it side saddle, then crossed one leg over the other and rested his elbow on his leg, his chin on his hand.  Crow felt another overwhelming urge to either punch him or run him over.

“See, here’s the thing,” he said.  “I’ve got my Aesir eye, and all.  And Loki wants to make sure you guys don’t mess with the world, too.”

He tapped his cheekbone right under his eye, and briefly, the magic, glowing symbol appeared there.

“And I don’t mind going along with the flow for now.  Not much else to do, anyway, and if the world is really meant to end?  What can humans do about it anyway?  Stress is bad for your skin.”

“You’re just going to accept that it’s inevitable?  That everything is going to disappear?”

Brave shrugged.

“It’s easier that way, isn’t it?  And besides, if you  _ do _ win, the world goes on a little longer, and there’s nothing wrong with that either.  So unlike you, I’ve got nothing to lose.”

He swung himself back into a normal seat using only his hands on the handlebars to flip himself back with way more flourish than necessary.

“I don’t like to worry about things I can’t change, you know?  Like, look at you: you’re worrying about the fate of the world, and trying to save things, and you’re getting all flustered and losing it.  It’s why I’m winning.”

He winked at Crow, and it was the most infuriating thing he had ever seen.  He felt, for a moment, like he was going to white out from the sheer rage of it all.  How could he be so...so  _ like this _ about the fate of the whole goddamn world??  Didn’t he have anything to fight for?  Didn’t he have— 

“Crow!!”

“Crow-oniichaaaan!”

Crow flinched, jumping up, his eyes shooting upwards.  He was so distracted by his anger that he hadn’t realized they were zipping through the stands again.  He saw something big and white fluttering in the air, and his lips parted.

Was that supposed to be him?  Those kids weren’t the best artists, were they?  He almost laughed.  He was moving by so fast that he couldn’t see the kids individually, but he could see them jumping up and down, waving that big white flag that they had drawn a picture of him on, and then he was past again.

His heart hammered in his chest.

“You’re fucking wrong,” he said.  His anger cooled all at once, hardened into something cold and sharp.  “Worrying about things...taking care of people.  That’s why  _ I’m _ gonna win.”

_ Wait for me, okay kids? _ he thought at them as he drew his next card.

“I’ll normal summon Blizzard of the Far North!  When it’s summoned, I can special summon a monster from the graveyard, so come back, Gale the Whirlwind!”

His two monsters appeared with a flutter of wings and a burst of feathers. Gale immediately shot twin gusts of wind at Thor once more.

“Gale will halve Thor’s attack!  Then I’ll tune Gale and Brisote!”

He felt that itch in the back of his head again, and his arm was starting to burn.

“Darkened gales, reveal the hidden wishes on your wings!  Synchro summon!”

This was not quite unlike the pressure of Thor, he thought, and he saw Brave’s smile slip slightly.  A tightening twisted around Crow’s neck, but it wasn’t malicious or frightening, more like the nice snugness of a scarf drawn around him.  He felt the wind turn briefly ice cold, and then his dragon broke through the veil and sliced into view.

“Appear!  Black-Winged Dragon!”

This wasn’t actually the first time that he had summoned Black-Winged Dragon; he had used it in the fight against the Ghost robots before.  But this time, he actually  _ felt _ it.  He could feel the cold rush of air from its wings, hear the clicking of its teeth in its beak, see its eyes, glancing back at him as though they were alive.  His arm was still burning.

“When Brisote is sent to the graveyard as a synchro material, I gain six hundred life points!”

It was a small bit of health, but it was better than being at one hundred.  He was still under the danger threshold of Speed World 2.

“All right, Black-Winged Dragon, let’s do some damage!” Crow said.  “Attack Thor!”

Black-Winged Dragon let out a ringing, bird-like screech that cut through Crow’s ears and made every hair stand on edge.  The dragon ripped forwards, claws digging and dragging into Thor’s skin so that Crow actually thought he was about to see real blood come to the wounds.  Thor shattered before that happened, however, and Brave’s life points dipped to twenty two hundred.

“Not bad,” Brave said. “Chip damage isn’t shameful, to set up for your next runner.  But Thor’s coming back in a minute!”

“I’ll set a card and end my turn,” Crow said.

“And with that, Thor comes back!  You’ve only got seven hundred life points, Crow, this’ll take you out!”

Crow braced himself as Thor came into being  _ again _ , and lightning hit his hammer and scattered over the ground.

“Black-Winged Dragon’s effect activates!” he said, throwing his hand forward.  “When I would take effect damage, I can put one Black Feather Counter on it instead.”

Black-Winged Dragon’s first set of long black feathers turned red as it soaked the lightning into its wings.  Baleful red eyes glowered at Thor, and the dragon ruffled its feathers as though to say  _ nice fucking try. _

“That reduces Black-Winged Dragon’s attack by seven hundred,” Crow said.  “And then it’s your go.”

It was a risky, risky, RISKY move, and he knew it.  But he had to do something.

_ “Crow, are you doing all right out there?” _

Crow realized with a start that he had barely been paying attention to the others, he’d been so worked up.

“Yeah, I’m fine,” Crow said.  “Just real pissed at this guy!  He thinks he’s so cool and shit.”

_ “It’s like looking into a mirror, isn’t it?” _ Jack said.

“Hey!  This coming from you?”

He heard the faint laugh from Yusei and Lua, though Lua sounded more nervous.

“Hey, chin up guys,” he said.  “I’m not out yet.  Not fighting without you guys, right?”

_ “We’re all here for you, as much as we can be,” _ Judai’s voice came through.

“Well, if you’ve got any helpful hints, that might be good right about now.  You ever slayed any gods before, Judai?”

_ “Actually yes, but they were more like demons.  Nothing like these.” _

“Man, you’ve got a story for everything.”

His arm was still burning, and Brave was taking his turn.

“I’ll normal summon Ljosalf of the Nordic Alfar!” Brave said, flicking the card face towards Crow.

The little monster appeared with a pop.  It was a weird little thing, blue and pale and only vaguely human in shape, with flat white eyes and long hair.

“Then I’ll used Amulet of the Nordic Alfar to special summon Svartalf of the Nordic Alfar from my hand!”

This one was even  _ weirder _ , red this time, and round, with cloudy hair the same color as its skin and flat green eyes, grinning at him with fangs.

“Because of Amulet, it gains one extra level!  And then I’ll tune it with Ljosalf!”

_ Oh.  Shit _ .

“God-slaying tactics would be appreciated right now,” Crow said into his headset.

“Whimsical god, born from the stars, show us your absolute power and laugh at the world!  Synchro summon!”

Oh  _ god _ this was even worse than  _ one _ god.

Crow felt like he could barely breathe, and the wind was getting even colder, cutting through his riding suit like he was wearing nothing at all.  The sky turned from a thunderous gray to nearly black with clouds, and the new god descended.

If Thor was a constant buzzing static in the air, then this new god was the horrible, nagging sense that something was coming, like prey who knew the predator was coming.

“Come forth, Loki, Lord of Aesir!’

The creature wasn’t anything nice to look at, with warped anatomy and a bulbous face that leered down at Crow in a permanent grin from beneath the brim of its witch like hat.  Crow swore.  That thing had thirty three hundred attack points, and Thor was back to full as well.  If he didn’t come up with something quick, he’d lose in one blow.

“Loki, attack Black-Winged Dragon!” Brave commanded, his eye glowing with the light of the Aesir.  “Let’s end this!”

“I’m going to activate my face down, Black Sonic!” Crow shouted.  “When you declare an attack, I can remove all my opponent’s attack position monsters from play!”

He’d at least get rid of these two fucking gods!

“A for effort, Crow,” Brave said.  “Loki’s effect activates!  When it attacks, I can negate and destroy one of my opponent’s spells or traps!”

_ Fuck! _

Loki let out a horrifying, maniacal laugh, and it seemed that the soundwaves themselves shattered Crow’s trap.  It advanced on Black-Winged Dragon then, hands reaching forward as the space before it began to warp.

_ “Crow!!!!” _

Lua’s voice broke through his headset, frantic and wild.

“What the...” he said, flinching at the sound.

_ “Crow!  Your other face down!  Your other face down!” _

Crow blinked.  He...his other face down?  Right, he had another one, but that one was...well, it was a gamble, a huge one, and...

Well, like Brave had said before....

He didn’t have anything to lose.

“I activate my other face down!  Blackwing Trust!”

The card flipped face up, and Loki’s attack hesitated once more.

“I destroy one Blackwing on my field to activate it,” Crow said, and Blizzard vanished in a puff of feathers.  “Then I can draw one card: and if it’s a Tuner monster, I can immediately Synchro Summon with a monster on my field!”

Why was he doing this, again?  He didn’t even have any other Synchro monsters in his Extra Deck higher level than Black-Winged Dragon so...

The heat in his arm moved to his back in a flash, and then there was a faint pulsing in his chest, right around his heart.  He gasped, nearly choking on a sudden sensation that he wasn’t by himself on this D-Wheel— he felt somehow the weight and heat of five others close around him, as though there were five other hands resting on top of his when he reached for his deck.

He drew his card, and a tuner looked back at him.  He knew he had nothing to Synchro summon, and yet...

“I drew Vayu the Emblem of Honor!” he said.  “I’ll tune it with Black-Winged Dragon!”

Black-Winged Dragon let out a low, excited hiss through its toothed beak, and then it turned to black oil swirling and spinning in front of Crow.

“Darkened gales, enter the blackness of the thunder and come free as the storm itself!  Synchro Summon!”

The oil reformed, hardened and then softened into feathers, and the new being appeared.

“Come forth, Blackwing Galeforce Dragon!”

The dragon was actually...smaller than Black-Winged Dragon.  It was momentarily disappointing before he felt the crackle through his mind, like an eager desire to fight.  Galeforce was mottled, black and gray, with white lightning bolts painted down the length of its wings.  Its tail was tipped with a jagged lightning bolt feather, and its long, slender body was coated with cloudy feathers that seemed to swirl like it was made of clouds.

Crow still felt the heat on his back, and he felt a wild grin coming over his face.  He knew, deep in his head, exactly what he was going to do.

“Are you kidding me?” Brave laughed.  “You traded twenty one hundred attack points for eighteen?  Is that supposed to be your way of saying you actually give up?”

“Try me,” Crow said.

Brave rolled his eyes.

“Your funeral,” he said lightly. “Loki, continue the attack!”

This would take him out in one blow.  That is, if Galeforce wasn’t ready for it.

“When I’d take damage through battle once per turn, I can add Black Feather counters to Galeforce for every five hundred points of damage, negating the damage!  

Galeforce screeched, absorbing Loki’s warped attack into its feathers. Long streaks of white lightning appeared along its neck for each counter.

“Galeforce loses five hundred attack points for every counter, but as long as it has attack points, it can’t be destroyed by battle!”

Galeforce hissed.  It’s attack dropped down to only three hundred, but it remained safe on the field.

“You just don’t give up, do you?” Brave said.  “I’ll hit it with Thor and you can’t add any more counters, and you’ll lose anyway.”

Crow just smirked at him.

“Galeforce Dragon’s other effect activates,” he said.  “While it has counters, I can destroy it— dealing one thousand points of damage to both of us for each counter it has.”

Brave’s eyes widened, and his lips parted.

“Hot damn,” was what he said, before Galeforce shrieked and  _ exploded _ in a miniature thunderstorm that swept both of them nearly against the sides of the dueling lane.

Crow’s ears rang in his head and he coughed through the sudden emptiness in his chest.

“Fuck,” he said.  “I did my best, guys.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> THIS DUEL IS KILLING MEEEEE
> 
> I hope you guys aren't too bored!!! I'm trying to get through this as quick as I can but it's just turning out to be easier to break it up, otherwise each chapter would take forever and it would take even longer than two weeks to get them to you ;w; thankfully this Ragnarok duel is the last big duel I'll be writing cause I have other plans for the rest of the plot...so I hope that enough to keep you guys here ; w ; thank you as always for putting up with my irregular schedule and for supporting this work!! You guys make it all worth it <3


	36. Aries

Judai gripped the dashboard, his knuckles going white with the panic as he saw Yusei bolt out into the dueling lane.  It was so hard to breathe. He had thought the pressure was bad when he had faced off with Harald’s Odin this morning, but Loki and Thor out on the field together was making the air so thick that he could tell even the less psychically sensitive of the team were getting sick.  Bruno looked like he was going to throw up, and Crow was gasping, having reluctantly taken a seat at Jack’s demands.

“Fuck,” Crow whispered, watching Harald zoom from the pit to meet Yusei.  “I should have done more.”

“You did what you could,” Aki admonished him, handing him a water bottle.  She looked even worse than he did, and she hadn’t been dueling. Her breaths came in thin whistles, and her skin trembled faintly.  She kept looking at the gods and then looking away, pupils dilated with a panic she wasn’t acknowledging.

“Judai, what do you think?” asked Jack.  He stood with his arms folded tight against his chest, eyes not leaving the dueling screen.  Up above, Yusei played his first turn, summoning out a handful of low level monsters in quick succession from his combos.  He set a card face down and ended, and the turn passed to Harald.

Judai let out a heavy breath, trying to remember to breathe.

“I don’t know,” he finally said.  “This is...if Harald gets out the last god, we’ll be in trouble.”

They were in trouble already.  He looked up at the swirling, powerful auras of the two beings that already graced the field, and shuddered.  They were powerful, and they wanted to kill them

“Yusei, how are you doing out there?” he said into the headset.

_“Well, we just started, but it’s looking...fine.”_

That was a bald-faced lie and Judai knew it, but he didn’t call him out on it.  Maybe with Hourglass Dragon, they could have half a chance, but Yusei didn’t look like he was anywhere close to being able to summon that.

Harald’s field flashed, and the world tightened, as though gravity had shifted in his direction.  Judai nearly threw up. Oh, god, no, on the first turn??

The air rippled and cracked and then gravity itself briefly ripped apart in an effect that Judai’s eyes couldn’t comprehend, and when he managed to blink away the dizziness and disorientation, the monstrous god from this morning was on the field alongside the other two gods.

The pressure was unbelievable.  Judai actually had to bend over, bracing himself against the dashboard.  He heard Aki make a retching sound, and Luka pushed her headset hard against her ears and whimpered.  Lua choked on his own air. Even Jack and Crow simultaneously swore and gasped.

“Oh _fuck_ ,” Crow swore.

Judai heard Yusei swear and caught a glimpse of him briefly swerving before righting himself.

“Yusei!” he called into the headset.  “Yusei, are you okay??”

_“I’m fine, just— it startled me, that’s all, don’t worry Judai, I’ve got it.”_

“Yusei, please, be careful, I don’t know what I’d do if you— ”

He couldn’t finish the sentence; his stomach twisted and he felt like he was going to throw up.  This man was trying to _kill_ Yusei.  Yusei was out there, practically alone, in front of three ridiculously powerful gods, and he could _die_.  Judai had no doubt that Harald wouldn’t give a damn that they were on national television.  If Yusei’s life points hit zero out there, he would be dead.

Harald called out an attack that Judai barely heard, and Yusei’s trap fell uselessly before the crack of power that rippled over him.  Judai heard the scream that Yusei tried to swallow down through the headset.

 _Oh god_ , he thought.   _I can’t do anything._

*    *    *

Yusei tried to bite back his scream, but he couldn’t stop it.  Pain ripped through his chest as the gods attacked in furious succession.  He heard the roar and scream of the crowd when his D-Wheel spun out. He hit a bump and for a brief, panicked second, he thought he’d fly from his seat.

But he landed, hard, and gasped as he managed to get his vision to clear.  He was alive, still. He had to stay that way. He blinked through his dizziness and revved his bike, catching back up to Harald.

“You might as well just crash now,” Harald said, looking back over his shoulder.  “You’ll save yourself some pain.”

Yusei bristled.

“If I had a hundred yen for every time someone had told me that growing up,” he said.  “I’m not going to roll over and make it easy for you.”

Harald barely even pursed his lips, looking back forward.

“It makes no difference to me.  Either way you’ll end up dead.”

“Why are you doing this?” Yusei shouted.  He revved his bike up, fighting past the ridiculous pressure until he was alongside Harald.  “Why do you have to do this? Why can’t we fight against Yliaster together?”

“Because the both of you will achieve the same results,” Harald said, without looking at him.

“And what’s wrong with that?  Why should billions of innocents have to die so that the universe can stay on its natural path?  What’s natural about that??”

“Don’t you think the dinosaurs wondered the same thing?” Harald said.

He finally looked at Yusei, then and his eye was glowing with that eerie rune.  His eyes were cold, his face expressionless. There was no mercy in that face, and Yusei tensed.

“The Aesir have awoken over and over across millennia, for this very purpose,” Harald said.  “Whenever the universe goes off its natural path, they will be there, to set it right. And this shall be their final mission.  Extinction is a fact of life, Fudo Yusei.”

Yusei’s hands tightened on his handlebars.  He grit his teeth. Something beneath his skin buzzed, some humming sensation that shoved the pressure of the gods away from him.  He felt hot and cold all at once, and a burst of anger and desire for battle settled in his stomach. He had a feeling the feeling wasn’t entirely his.

“Then I reject that,” he said.  “I reject a world so cold and uncaring.”

“Then you walk the path of a tyrant,” Harald said.  “Attempting to place one’s own desires for their own perfect understanding of reality above that of everyone else’s.”

“You don’t get to push that on me!” Yusei shouted back.  “That’s exactly what you’re doing right now!”

Harald’s lip curled, and he shook his head, turning to face forward again.

“You won’t last another turn, anyway,” he said.  “So, if this is truly us pitting our realities against each other...let’s see which one falls in the end.”

“Try me,” Yusei said, snarling with what felt like uncharacteristic rage, even for the situation.  His Extra Deck was glowing.

 _Summon me_ , he heard whispering at the back of his mind.

“I’m working on it,” he muttered, and hit the gas.  The roaring wind seemed to make the pressure of the gods blow completely away, and he relished briefly in the speed.

“I activate the Speed Spell, Angel Baton!  I can now draw two cards!”

 _Perfect,_ he thought glancing at the cards.

_Are you summoning me yet?_

The rumble came through his stomach this time, and it tickled like the fizz in soda.  Despite the situation, Yusei rolled his eyes.

“I didn’t know you were so needy,” he said, smiling in spite of himself.  “I summon Debris Dragon!”

The tiny dragon popped into life, flapping its wings to catch up to Yusei.

“Debris Dragon’s effect lets me revive Cosmic Compass with its effects negated,” Yusei said. “Return to the field!”

His compass monster reappeared with a clittering sound, swinging back and forth.

“Since I special summoned from the graveyard, I can special summon Doppelwarrior from my hand!  And since I have a tuner on the field, I can also special summon Quillbolt Hedgehog!”

His monsters appeared along with their fellows, and he felt the soda pop fizz in his stomach spread out through his whole body.

“I’m tuning Doppelwarrior and Quillbolt Hedgehog with Debris Dragon!”

The gates opened, and he felt the light inside of him starting to pour forth.

“Clustering wishes will become a new shining star!” he shouted.  “Become the path its light shines upon! Synchro Summon! Take flight, Stardust Dragon!”

The fizz beneath his skin exploded and misted off of him, surging upwards in a beautiful spiral.  The silver sparkles condensed through the Synchro Summoning gates. By the time the cloud reached the other side, Stardust Dragon had appeared.  Stardust let out a haunting keen, one that made Yusei thrum with his dragon’s excitement and eagerness. This was the first time he had _sensed_ Stardust like this.  It felt heady, and he burst out into a grin in spite of himself.

“You’re a fool if you think that creature will be able to save you!” Harald shouted, his lips curling with disgust.

“I’ve always been one of those,” Yusei said, and then he switched his headset mode.  “Judai, you there?”

 _“I’m here,”_ he said, his voice trembling ever so slightly.  Yusei could hear his attempts to smile on his voice.   _“You hanging in there, speed racer?”_

“I could use a little moral support.”

_“Don’t die.”_

“I was thinking more along the lines of ‘I love you’, but that works too.”

Judai actually snorted, but his breath caught.

_“Yusei, I hope you have a plan because I— I can’t think past the pressure.”_

Yusei swallowed.

“I don’t know about a plan, but I have a gut feeling,” he said.  “Help me?”

_“I’m always there with you.”_

Yusei curled his hand around his handlebar and pretended, for a moment, that it was Judai’s hand.

“When Doppelwarrior is sent to the Graveyard for a Synchro Summon, I special summon one Doppel Token to the field!”

A ghostly image of Doppelwarrior appeared, wavering like a mirage.

“Then, I activate my trap card— Overtune!  By tributing Doppel Token, I can special summon a Tuner monster from my hand!  Come forth, Elemental HERO Masquerade!”

Doppel Token poofed out like a wisp of smoke, and a new creature appeared in its place.  The tiny monster looked about Lua and Luka’s size, with a pointed nose masquerade mask over glowing yellow eyes, a black cape and wide brimmed hat concealed most of its form from view.  It giggle and pulled its cloak up over its mouth.

“Elemental HERO Masquerade is a Tuner monster,” Yusei said.  “And I’ll activate its effect! I can send one monster from my deck to my Graveyard, and Masquerade is then treated as the same name, level, and attribute as the discarded monster!  I’m discarding Neos!”

The card poked free of his deck, and he slid it into the graveyard.  Masquerade giggled again, throwing its cloak out like a huge pair of wings.  A ghostly image of Neos appeared above it for a moment, and when it disappeared, Masquerade’s mask had turned into Neos’ image.

“I’ll tune Masquerade with Cosmic Compass!”

Masquerade spun in a whirlwind of black fabric and then turned into Synchro gates, and Cosmic Compass shot through as it faded into a star.

“The forgotten dream will open a new door to the future!  On new wings, soar towards the open sky—Synchro Summon!”

Daydream Neos opened its wings like a blooming lotus, revealing its serene, inhuman face.  Stardust lifted up its head and keened once again, wings thrumming with excitement as it flew.  Yusei could almost feel the hearts of both Synchro monsters beating in tune with his own, and he felt another heady rush of excitement.

“You can summon all of the monsters you’d like, Fudo Yusei, but none of them are anywhere near the strength of the Aesir!” Harald shouted.

 _That doesn’t matter,_ Yusei thought.   _Judai and I are together on the field.  We can make this work._

Daydream Neos would protect his monsters from being hurt by effects, and depending on what he drew next...

“When Cosmic Compass is sent to the graveyard for a Synchro Summon, I can draw one card!”

He pulled his card free and glanced at it.  Would this help? He wasn’t getting any sense of strategy connections yet, but he felt a thrum of certainty anyway.  Something here could work. It had to.

“I set one card and end my turn!”

Stardust growled irritably.

 _I want to fight_ , it complained, stretching out its neck and keening.

_You can’t right now, they’re all stronger than you._

_I want to fight anyway._

Hearing his dragon was, honestly, a surreal experience.  It felt exciting and disorienting all at once. Was this something he should try talking to Judai about right now?

He didn’t have time.  Harald was taking his turn.

“I draw!” His eyes flickered across to Yusei, and Yusei caught the edge of caution in his expression.  He was worried about Yusei’s face downs. Maybe he thought that he’d put out important but still weaker monsters in order to trick him into some kind of attack.

“I activate my trap card, Odin’s Eye,” Harald called out, his eye sparking with glowing light.  “By negating my Aesir’s effects for one turn, I can look at one face down card on the field.”

He pointed to the one that Yusei had just set.  It flipped face up, face glowing at Harald. Harald swore softly.

Wave Rebound.  If Yusei managed to destroy all three of the Aesir, and Harald used their effects to bring them back, he’d take their total attack as damage.  His eyes flickered to the second face down card. Yusei could almost see him thinking. What if Yusei had a face down that would destroy all of Harald’s monsters?  The combo would ruin him. His monsters effects were negated by Odin’s Eye, he wouldn’t be able to defend from something that would destroy his monsters.

 _Take the bluff_ , Yusei said, his first spike of panic assaulting him since he’d summoned Stardust.   _Take the bluff._

Harald was more cautious than Yusei had hoped.

“I’ll set a card and end my turn,” Harald said.  Yusei blew out. He hadn’t realized that he was holding his breath until that moment.  He was surviving by the skin of his teeth and they both knew it. He sucked in a breath, closing his eyes briefly.  He had to focus.

 _I want to fight_ , Stardust said insistently.

Yusei’s deck thrummed softly.  He felt his arm burning.

“Guys,” he said into his headset.  “I could use your help.”

 _“We’re with you, Yusei,”_ said Aki.

 _“Get ‘em, Yusei!”_ Lua said.

 _“Take whatever you need!”_ Luka said.

 _“We’ve got this together!”_ Crow said.

 _“You’d better not lose after this,”_ said Jack.

Yusei laughed softly as the heat in his arm moved to his back, and he felt the next card before he drew it.

“I summon Majestic Dragon!” he said.

The monster born of the Signer’s combined wishes appeared, humming along with Stardust in an echoing cry.  It’s big, bug-like eyes shimmered and glowed.

“I activate my face down card, Level Up!  Majestic Dragon gains one level!”

Harald swore as he realized that Yusei’s other trap card wouldn’t have been able to stop him.  Too late for him to take back his caution now.

“Majestic Dragon tunes with Stardust Dragon!”

Stardust roared with excitement as its wings began to glow and sparkle from Majestic Dragon’s synchronization.

“Gathering starlights will enlighten a new miracle! Become the paht its light shines upon!” Yusei called. “Synchro summon!  Arrive in light, Majestic Star Dragon!”

Stardust came through the gates with two pairs of wings, held out straight in a large X.  Stardust had gone sleeker, slimmer, glowing with a platinum light that made it shimmer with mirages.  It shrieked an eerie war cry, humming with determination.

“It’s still not strong enough to handle the Aesir,” Harald said.  “You’ve accomplished nothing but a light show!”

“Majestic Star Dragon has an effect: when you activate an effect, Star Dragon will negate it and destroy all monsters on your side of the field!” Yusei said.  “And you already know what I have face down.”

Harald glared at him over his shoulder, and Yusei just grinned.

“This is what you get for facing all of the Signers at once,” he said.  “You didn’t think we were fighting alone, did you?”

“You’re a stain, Fudo Yusei,” Harald snarled.  “Every single one of you damned Signers is a stain on this world; the Crimson Dragon is nothing but a meddler, an echo of madness from a universe that needs to be allowed to pass on!  Your very existence is the proof of the world’s lack of balance!”

Yusei just shook his head.  There was no reasoning with this man.

“I end my turn,” Yusei said.  “Normally, Majestic Star would return to my Extra Deck at the end of the turn, but by Daydream Neos’ effect, none of my monsters can be targeted for an effect, including Majestic Star’s own!”

Majestic Star Dragon keened with a taunting sort of cry, as though daring Harald to use its effect and allow Majestic Star to respond.  It shimmered like a mirage, briefly, but Daydream Neos swooped forward and shadowed Majestic Star with its wings, and the mirage faded.

Harald glared at Yusei with a curling lip.

“You’ll see,” Harald said. “The Aesir will prove to be the ones in the right by this duel.  I’ll erase you and the Signers from this world.”

He drew a card and spared it only half a glance.

“I activate Odin’s effect!  Spells and Traps cannot affect my Divine Beast monsters this turn!”

Was he stupid?  Yusei swore softly— Harald was up to something, but he had no idea what.  He had no choice but to activate Majestic Star to defend himself.

“Majestic Star Dragon’s effect activates!  When you activate an effect, it’s negated and all of your monsters are destroyed!”

Majestic Star Dragon hissed.  Its wings raised up and light prismed through the delicate membrane in a wild furry of color.  It shattered like diamond fragments, and all of the Aesir shattered too, raining down over Harald in a shimmering rain storm.

“I end my turn,” Harald said.  “And the Aesir rise again!”

“I activate Wave Rebound!  Their summons are negated and you take damage equal to their attack points!”

Harald smirked, and Yusei felt suddenly cold.  The heat on his back vanished, and he felt the connection to the other Signers dissipate.

“From my graveyard, I activate Gjallarhorn!”

 _“From the graveyard?”_ he heard Crow swear.

“When a divine beast monster would be special summoned, I can activate this from the Graveyard to my Spell and Trap zone.  Divine Beast monster summons cannot be negated, and that means Wave Rebound has no target!”

Yusei swore, gasping as the pressure of the gods returned to crush down on him.  He heard Judai choke on the other side of the headset.

“Judai!”

“When Thor returns, you take eight hundred points of damage!”

“Daydream Neos will reflect effect damage back to you!” Yusei said, as Daydream Neos flung itself between Yusei and the crackling thunder.  

Harald grunted from the static that hit him back, taking his life points down, but Yusei somehow felt like he was the one who was losing.  His heart hammered in his chest. All three gods loomed down over him, and he felt like he was going to be sick. Majestic Star Dragon was gone, and he only had Daydream Neos, and no cards in his hand.  What was he supposed to do?

“Gjallarhorn has a second effect,” Harald said, the wind buffeting the two of them as they zoomed down.  “On the third end phase after this card was activated, I remove it and all the monsters I control from play, inflicting damage to you equal to their combined attack.”

 _Fuck_.

Harald sent Yusei a wry smile.

“Welcome to the countdown to ragnarok,” he said.  “It is nearly the end of the world.”

Yusei felt like he couldn’t breathe.  He could hear Judai and the other shouting through his headset, but he couldn’t make out the words.  For the first time, he felt truly, utterly alone. He was facing down the end of the world itself before him.  The sky above, dark with clouds, swirled menacingly, and every now and then, he thought he saw the air briefly rip open to show dark lighting through the cracks.

Harald wasn’t lying.  This wasn’t just the countdown to the end of the duel.

It was the countdown to the end of the world itself.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> my god i wish i could stick to a schedule with this one!!!! I'm so sorry for the lack of updates lately with this fic, I have no idea why i can't focus on it. But I have another couple of chapters in backlog now so hopefully I'll stay on track now! Thank you all for sticking with it despite the irregular update schedule, ily guys! <3 And I promise the dueling will end soon haha; I meant this to be one chapter but in order to make sure I get more regular updates, I decided to shorten the chapter and split them up a bit ;w; but the dueling is almost done!!


	37. Chamaeleon

“Yusei!   _ Yusei!” _

Yusei wasn’t responding; Judai could see him on the screen, but with the visored helmet, it was hard to tell what his expression was.  Was he okay? Why wasn’t he responding? The Majestic Star tactic hadn’t worked, and now only Daydream Neos stood in between Yusei and the Aesir.

_ I can’t do anything _ , Judai thought, shaking.   _ I can’t do anything, I can’t do anything, I can’t do anything—  _

Yusei was out there alone.  Judai couldn’t be out there, dueling with him.  Judai could not remember feeling so disconnected from Yusei, ever.  The feelings of dueling together were gone. Yusei was alone and there was nothing Judai could do to help him.

“Yusei, please respond,” Bruno said, his voice mostly calm despite the shake.  “Yusei, we need to know you’re all right.”

There was still no response on the other end of the headset.  Yusei and Harald both zoomed past the pit, and Yusei didn’t even look at them.  

He knew he was alone, too.  He knew there was nothing they could do.  Judai felt like he was going to pass out right there.  He swayed, briefly, and Crow caught him by the back, holding him up.

“Hey!” he said, shaking Judai slightly.  “Don’t you dare make that fucking face! Don’t you dare make a face like we’ve already lost!”

“I can’t do anything,” Judai mumbled, tears blurring his eyes.  “Crow, there’s nothing I can do. There’s nothing we can do.”

“That’s not true!” Luka screamed.  “It’s not true at all!! We’re— we’re always fighting together!  We’re always with him!”

Yusei ended his turn after switching Daydream Neos to defense mode.  There wasn’t any powre behind his dueling all of a sudden. It was as though, he too, had given up.

“Stop it!” Aki shouted, punching the dashboard.  “All of you, stop— stop giving up!”

Tears rolled down her cheeks and her shoulders shook.  Jack grabbed her by the shoulders hen she swayed, but he looked white and shaken, just like her.  The gods’ pressure continued to eat away at Judai’s insides, and he couldn’t breathe.

He felt a small, warm hand slide into his.  The touch startled him, and he looked down.

Lua was holding his hand, looking far more composed than any of the rest of them.  He stared forward, but...he didn’t really seem to be looking at anything. He reached out with his other hand without looking, grabbing hold of Luka.  Luka startled, and then her hand automatically slid down to grip his as she cried.

“I need everyone,” Lua said.  “I need all of the Signers.”

“Lua, what are you...” Crow started.

Lua’s skin began to glow faintly in thin, runic symbols, rivers of crimson running like circuits down his arms and up his face.  Judai felt a new pressure in his stomach, but this one...this one wasn’t controlling. It was more like the pressure of a warm blanket wrapped up to your ears, not at all like the crushing gravity of the Aesir.

“Lua?” Judai whispered.

Lua finally looked up at him, and his eyes were a full, glowing red in pools of white.

“Call for Yusei,” he said.  “You’re the only one he’ll hear.  He needs to connect, and he’s not listening.”

“I...”

He looked up at the screen.  Yusei’s D-Wheel wobbled and he nearly spun out under the attack of the Aesir.  Judai’s heart stiffened up. If the other two gods attacked, Yusei would lose.

_ I can’t lose him _ , he thought.

He felt Crow grip his other hand, and Aki grabbed Luka’s.  Jack took Aki’s other hand, and after an awkward beat, Bruno awkwardly gripped Jack’s.  Judai could feel the heat rippling off of Lua, down his arm and up to his own heart and through to the other people holding hands.

Judai swallowed, and closed his eyes.

_ Yusei _ , he thought.   _ Yusei. _

*    * *

Yusei could feel himself giving up.

He only barely managed to wrench himself back to safe position after his bike went out from the attack, zooming after Harald.  But Harald was so far ahead of him, and the gods so huge and looming, and Daydream Neos was...

He felt a spark of heat, not on his arm, not on his back, but in his chest, right over his heart.  Daydream Neos.

“When the monster that was Synchro Summoned by Masquerade’s effect is destroyed, I can remove Masquerade in the Graveyard from play to end the battle phase and draw two cards!”

He drew.  Speed Fusion and Yubel stared back at him.  He almost laughed. Now? Now of all times? Stardust was in the graveyard.  He couldn’t summon Hourglass Dragon without a goddamn miracle.

That heat sparked in his heart again.  He put the card away and put his hand over his chest, frowning.  Was he having a heart attack? The end of the world was a hell of a time for that.

He felt a warmth in his hand, as though someone were gripping his hand.

_ “Yusei, please, answer me.” _

In his haze of frustration and panic, he hadn’t been listening to the others in his headset.  But Judai’s voice finally broke through, soft, desperate.

“Judai?” he whispered, his voice cracking.

Judai gasped, choking softly on swallowed tears.

_ “I’m here,”  _ Judai said.   _ “I’m here, Yusei.” _

“I don’t know what to do,” Yusei said, his voice cracking. “There’s nothing I can do.”

_ “You can, you can, Yusei, if anyone can, it’s you.  You’re not alone.” _

He felt it.  He hated to admit it, but he felt it.  He looked up at the gods, glaring down at him where he zoomed down the track.  Harald was so far ahead he could barely see him. The sky cracked and rumbled, and he could see the horizon, looking black and melted.  The edges of the ocean were starting to fuzz. He wasn’t sure if it was just his imagination, or an effect of the holograms, or if the world were actually ending...but he felt as though it were the last one.

“I feel alone,” he whispered.  “Judai, I can’t feel you.”

Judai swallowed.

_ “I feel like I can’t reach you,” _ Judai said.   _ “But...but please.  Don’t give up. Don’t give up so that I can reach you when this is over.” _

Harald fell back so that he was near enough to look at Yusei over his shoulder.

“Will you take your turn, or will you finally surrender?” he said.  “Let the world go, Fudo Yusei. You don’t have to carry it.”

It actually sounded gentle, which shocked Yusei.  Let it go? Just...let it go? His shoulders briefly tensed, and then slumped.  It was so hard. Too hard. Maybe it would be better to let go. It was too much to carry.

They came up on the pit again.  Yusei’s eyes flickered towards the Team 5D’s side.

He saw Judai first, looking at him pale and worried.  He saw the others next. They were standing, holding hands, and he felt that warmth in his hand as though someone else were gripping him.  Then he was past and they were gone.

He still felt alone.  His friends were far away, behind him.

But...

If this duel ended here, he would never come back around and see them again.  He’d never reach them again. He’d end the world alone.

He drew a card.

“I activate my Speed Spell, Speed Return!” he said.  “This card allows me to use a Speed Spell in my Graveyard, and I choose Angel Baton!”

Two more cards. These were his last chance.  He hesitated before drawing them.

His heart warmed with a furious heat, and he gasped, eyes widening.  The warmth surrounded him like an embrace, like wings folding around him.

He drew his last two cards, and looked down at them. 

One of them was glowing red.

Immediately, the circuit in his mind formed.  He saw it, each connection, spreading and glowing and hitting each card in succession, sending the Aesir tumbling down before something new, something that glowed and burned in Yusei’s head.

The heat burned away every shred of loneliness, and he felt Judai’s hand in his, and the heat of the others burning the tattoo on his back.

“I summon Junk Cobbler!” he said, putting aside the glowing card for now.

The tiny monster, looking like a pile of sprockets and bolts in the vague shape of a stumpy human with googly eyes, popped out beside Yusei and rolled alongside him.

“Junk Cobbler can be substituted for any one fusion material!” Yusei said.  “For this turn, I’ll treat it as Stadust Dragon!”

Junk Cobbler started pulling at its own sprockets and bolts, throwing them up in a comical cloud of dust.  When the cloud faded, it looked like the same pile of junk, only this time in the vague shape of Stardust Dragon.

“From my hand I activate Speed Fusion!  I fuse the Junk Cobbler on my field, with the Yubel in my hand!”

Immediately, Yusei’s mind melded along with the fusion, and in a blink, he was up in the sky.

He felt Judai right beside him as Hourglass Dragon took form, letting out a low roar.

_ Once again _ , Yusei/Hourglass/Judai thought.   _ My, my, I’m being kept quiet busy. _

Yusei felt a low hum of warmth as his soul tucked up against Judai’s.  Judai grabbed for him, tangling the two of them up inside the great dragon’s soul, trying to reach for any part of Yusei he could.  In his human body, Yusei’s eyes filled up with tears.

Yusei/Hourglass/Judai all looked down at Yusei on his bike below, lazily flapping their wings.  Curiosity sparked in their mind at the glowing card in Yusei’s hand.

_ Ah _ , Hourglass said.   _ It has been a very, very long time. _

Longing wrapped around the great dragon, and Yusei felt it so powerfully that he gasped, tears leaking down his cheeks.  Judai moaned softly.

_ Don’t let me interrupt you _ , Hourglass said.   _ Please bring them home. _

Yusei reached for his card.

“That creature can’t protect you!” Harald shouted.  “It’s time has long past, Fudo Yusei! You were wrong to bring it back into the world!”

Hourglass/Yusei/Judai all snorted.  What a petulant little child this Harald was.  But, they supposed they couldn’t expect anything different from somene chosen by the Aesir.  Such upstarts, these young gods were, thinking that they knew everything there was to know about balance.  Leave them alone for a few millennia and they thought they knew everything.

Yusei breathed in once, and then lifted up the final card.

“When my life points are lower than my opponent’s, I can summon this card from my hand,” he said.  “I special summon Herald of Heartbeat!”

The air lightened on Yusei’s chest.  He could breathe. Light curled down through the clouds and alighted on the air beside Yusei.  From the light, a small, red-robed figure emerged. Their skin glowed pure white, eyes a shining crimson.  Pitch black hair swirled behind them from underneath a tiny red hat, and three pairs of wings somehow managed to fit all on their tiny body.

Herald of Heartbeat looked back at Yusei, and despite being a hologram, they nodded at him.  There was one more step.

“Once per turn, when I have a dark monster on the field, I can target one light monster in the graveyard,” Yusei said.  “I can remove that monster from play to tune it with Herald of Heartbeat!”

Herald of Heartbeat put their hands together in a praying position, closing their eyes.  Their whole body turned to light, wings growing and expanding into beautiful, prismatic colors.  In their wings, Stardust Dragon glowed as a reflection, briefly, and then they both turned to the glowing green of the Synchro Summon.

Hourglass Dragon let out a cry so full of excitement and gladness that Yusei felt tears spring to his eyes again.

“From the beginning of time, at the edge of creation, come before us now, shard of the beginning,” Yusei chanted, the words forming in his and Judai’s souls.  “Come forth, Echo of Brilliance!”

The light was so bright that it nearly eclipsed Yusei’s vision, and he had to look through Hourglass’s eyes to see what was happening.

Oh, he thought, gasping.  It’s the Crimson Dragon.

It was, and yet, it wasn’t.  The dragon was long, sinuous, and glowing with crimson power.  But it was slimmer and made of shards of light rather than the pulsing river of red that the Crimson Dragon was made of.  It looked as though it had been cut out of a pale red diamond, with horns spiraling backwards from its head.

It cried out, and Yusei felt the oddest sensation that he had just come home.

Hourglass cried out with excitement.  The great black dragon sprung forward in the air, and Echo of Brilliance joined it.  The two dragons spun and spiraled around each other, dancing in the air. Glimmers of light and sparklers of color passed through the air in their passing, and for the first time since the match started, Yusei remembered there was an audience, because they all immediately began to cheer at the marvelous light show.

Yusei felt a stupid grin growing over his face, and he felt Judai’s giddiness rushing through him.

Harald’s D-Wheel lagged as he stared upwards at the two dancing dragons, mouth hanging open.

That was right. There was a duel to finish.

“When Echo of Brilliance is summoned, all cards on the field have their effects negated, and Echo of Brilliance gains one thousand attack for each card negated!”

Light poured out of Echo of Brilliance’s scales.  The light made the Aesir draw back, try to lift their arms to protect themselves from the brilliant light that covered them.  Harald’s Gjallarhorn card turned to stone where it stood. Even Hourglass shuddered, but it didn’t stop them from continuing to play with the other dragon like children in the sky.  Six cards negated turned into six thousand attack points.

“When I have a dark monster on the field, once per duel, Echo of Brilliance can deal damage equal to its attack points!  Reign of Brilliance!”

Echo lifted its head high, and together with Hourglass, the most beautiful song poured out of them.

_ The melody _ , Yusei thought, his heart stopping in its tracks.  That was the song, that was their melody!

He didn’t feel like he was going to pass out.  He felt  _ alive _ .  The song poured over him, twisting, harmonizing, beating in time with his and Judai’s hearts.  It was the fullest, most complete version of the melody he had heard so far.

But it ended before it was finished, and he felt a faint, longing emptiness fill him.

Quietly, all three Aesir faded from sight.  And quietly, Harald’s life points hit zero.

His D-Wheel’s losing procedures went off, and he skidded to a stop.  Yusei zoomed straight past him. He saw, only for a moment, the look of absolute and utter shock in Harald’s eyes.

But then he was gone, zooming as fast as he could. His head pounded, his heart swelled, the song was so close!  If he could just get to Judai, they could finish it, they could find the end of the song, finally!

He saw the pit.  He hit the brakes just in time to skid to a safe stop in the pit, leaping from his motorcycle.  Overhead, Echo of Brilliance and Houglass Dragon still spun slowly around each other.

“Yusei!!”

“Yusei!”

He felt someone grab him, but suddenly realized that he couldn’t see.

_ Oh _ , he thought, as all at once, the power of the two ancient dragons ripped his insides apart, and he heard Judai cry out and someone scream.  _ I don’t think I can keep them both here. _

Both dragons shattered and disappeared, and then the world disappeared with them.


	38. Lacerta

_ He is falling. _

_ He is tumbling, head over heels, falling into the darkness, swallowed up in the space between the stars.  There is something coiling around him, something thick and dark and  _ **_ancient_ ** **,** _ something that could swallow him whole if he isn't careful. _

_ He has had this dream before. _

Judai startled awake.  Or at least, he was pretty sure he had.  Once his head stopped spinning and he found himself staring at nothing, he was no longer so sure.

He sat up and waved his hands back and forth.  He could see his hands as clearly as though it were a normal sunny day.  But beyond his hands there was nothing but a deep, unfathomable blackness.

He felt something cool curl around his ankles like smoke as he stood.  He felt...odd. There was something akin to nostalgia bubbling in his chest, or at least, a sense of deja vu.  He’d been here before. Wherever here was...

He turned around a few times, but there wasn’t anything to see.  Just blackness in all directions, no beginning, no end. He was standing on something, but it didn’t look any different than the rest of the world.  He was almost afraid to move, worried that he would go off some unseen drop and start falling again.

Falling...again?  Had he been falling?

**“Welcome back.”**

The voice came from the blackness itself, rumbling around him as though the world were speaking.  Judai winced.

**“Ah.  And you came too.  How curious.”**

Judai blinked once, and Yusei was there, sitting on the ground next to Judai and looking just as confused and disoriented as Judai felt.  Judai jumped, and reached down to help Yusei up to his feet. Yusei shook slightly, and Judai moved his hands to Yusei’s shoulders. 

“Are you okay?” Judai said.

“I think so,” Yusei said.  “You?”

“I’m fine.”

It was a lie.  He was trembling so badly he thought he might fall apart.  He knew where they were and he didn’t want to be here.

As though sensing his panic, Yusei immediately put his arms around Judai, tucking him against his neck.  His fingers curled into his hair briefly.

“Who’s there?” Yusei said.

**“That’s right.  We’ve never been formally introduced.  Judai knows me.”**

Yusei hesitated.  He looked down at Judai as Judai pushed back slightly, despite his desire to stay in the hug.  Judai licked his suddenly very dry lips, turning around. The darkness was moving, though how it was possible to tell against the eternal black was anybody’s guess.

And then it simply settled.  A hulking, looming figure appeared over them, shrouded in a thick black cloak that yet somehow still stood out against the darkness.  Glowing pin pricks of blue shone from underneath the hood, inside the sockets of an animalistic skull. For the first time, Judai realized just how dragon-like the creature’s skull appeared.

“Judai?” Yusei said, tightening his grip on Judai.  Judai set himself between Darkness and Yusei.

“Darkness,” he said.  “So you  _ were  _ the one in my dreams.”

**“You are very forgetful.”**

“You took my memories,” Judai said.  “You took my memories of every loop I went through.”

**“You knew there would be a price.  It was the easiest thing I could take from you in order to facilitate your wish.  Would you rather I had taken a life?”**

“Judai, what’s going on?” Yusei said.

Judai swallowed.  He moved his hand up to where Yusei’s were on his shoulders, gripping it tightly.

“I don’t really know,” Judai said softly.  “But I have a guess.”

Darkness stared at the two of them, unblinking, skull features unreadable.  It was huge, looming over them like the specter of death itself.

“This is Darkness,” Judai said.  “It’s...a force that...I think I may have made a contract with to save you.”

Yusei’s hands tightened protectively on Judai’s shoulders.

**“You did.  You wanted to save the life of that one, and offered anything.  You ought to be thanking me for not taking more than your memories.”**

“How many times have I done this?” Judai asked, his throat tight.

**“Why would I know?  It all passes in a blink.”**

“Why are we  _ here _ ?” Judai asked, his voice cracking.  “Why did you bring us here? Has this happened before?  What do you  _ want _ ?”

Darkness stared, unmoving.  Judai shook, and Yusei wrapped his arms around him gently, holding him back against his chest.  He was so  _ tired _ .  He was tired of being playthings for these huge, unfeeling beings!  He was tired of his and Yusei’s lives being nothing more than specks of dust in the face of these old, uncaring things.

And then, inexplicably, Darkness sighed.  It melted like a shadow in sunlight, and for a moment, Judai almost yelled.  Where was it going?? Was it leaving without answering a single question??

The shadow reformed, all black, smaller, now, like it was made of oil.

It looked exactly like Judai.

Darkness blinked at Judai, and now, with a human face, it sighed.  Exhaustion flickered over its face.

**“I did not bring you here,”** it said.   **“You both came of your own accord.”**

“We...what?” Yusei said.

**“You were following the melody, weren’t you?”**

Judai hesitated.  That...he remembered hearing it, when the two dragons had been dancing in the sky, and he had wanted to get to Yusei, as fast as possible, running towards him as he skidded back into the pit, and then...

“What is it?” Yusei asked, and his voice cracked with a faint hint of longing.

Darkness blinked at the two of them.  Then it closed its oil black eyes.

**“You asked me several questions.  The first I’ve answered. The second: no.  This has not happened before. Neither of you have ever made it here, in all the times you’ve done this loop.”**

It opened its eyes and considered the two of them.  Even though it was no longer as hulking and powerful as the dragon-headed skeleton from before, the gaze somehow seemed harder to hold this way.

**“The third question you’ve asked.  What do I want?”**

Darkness shrugged.

**“I accepted your contract the first time because that is what I do.  I accept the contracts mortals offer.”**

“Even if that mortal is me, right?” Judai said wryly.

**“Yuki Judai, I am not sure where you come by the conclusion that I dislike you.”**

Judai stared at it.  Darkness did not respond.

“I mean...I kind of ruined your plan to destroy the world.”

**“Yuki Judai, that time you faced me back then, you saved me.”**

The silence echoed throughout the blackness.  Judai could hear his own heartbeat thrumming in his ears, could hear the hum of Yusei’s heart in his neck, too.

“I...what?” Judai said.

Darkness sighed once again, and this time it seemed to come from all around them.

**“Follow me.”**

*    * *

It wasn’t so much following the strange being as it was...simply being where it wanted them to be.  All of a sudden there was light. Yusei braced himself, but the light didn’t blind him. It simply was, the way that the darkness around them was, the way it didn’t obscure anything but rather made it stand out more.

There was a perfect line between the light and the darkness, and Darkness stopped right before it, looking out into the world of light.

“Where are we now?” Judai asked.  “Is that...?”

A scream echoed from inside the light.  Yusei winced. He felt his heart pick up, and he grabbed instinctive hold of Judai as Judai reached for him, too.  They clung to each other as the scream warped. It cut and stabbed through Yusei’s ears, bringing tears to his eyes.  All at once, the white bubbled. The line between light and darkness shifted briefly, as though there was a tide of white trying to overtake the darkness, trying to bubble around the boundary.  Lights and glimmers shone dizzingly like a disco ball somewhere inside the expanse and Yusei had to close his eyes before he threw up. The scream turned into incoherent babbles and shrieks that seemed to come from a thousand different voices— and then just as suddenly as it had started, it stopped.

When Yusei opened his eyes, the light was still again.

But something else was at the boundary.

Across from Darkness, something bulged out of the white floor.  He couldn’t call it human-shaped, but he couldn’t call it anything else, either.  It dragged itself along the floor silently. There was a protrusion that might have been a head, but a head that was melting; the whole thing was completely white like the world around it, and it looked as though it were melting like wax as it tried to pitifully drag its way towards Darkness.

Darkness, for its part, just looked down at the creature.  It stood there, still in that eerie perfect likeness of Judai, staring down at it without expression, as it reached the edge of light and darkness.  It opened up what might have been a mouth, but no sound came out.

And then a tired look dragged at Darkness’s eyes, and it knelt down to meet it, putting one black hand against the stark white face.

**“You should rest,”** it said.   **“You should be resting.”**

_ “........... ....... ... ............” _

Yusei had the feeling that someone had spoken, but there was no sound; it was like the ringing aftereffect of a voice without any words before it.

**“Go to sleep, my friend,”** Darkness said, and it was surprisingly gentle sounding.  Yusei didn’t know this creature, but from Judai’s reactions, he thought maybe Judai feared it.  Yet...it sounded so sad and lonely.

The white creature tried to speak again, but only curled up further into an even more shapeless blob.  Darkness looked back up at Judai.

Judai was shaking, still clinging to Yusei.

“What’s happening?” he said, white faced.

**“Madness,”** Darkness said.   **“It came to us all, in the end.”**

It looked down.

**“I was like this, too.  You felt my madness, once.  You held it within you. Nurtured it; wore it like armor.”**

Judai flinched and shuddered, as though he had been struck.  Yusei rubbed his shoulder reassuringly.

“You’re not the Gentle Darkness,” Judai said.

**“I am.  I am all darkness.  When you faced me that day, I was at the height of my madness.  You, who had been touched by it, freed me from it.”**

“I don’t understand.  What are you saying? Why did you do all of this?”

“What do you want from us?” Yusei said.

Darkness looked back down at the shrinking white blob.

**“Want?  I wanted nothing from you.  I knew there was nothing that could be done, but to watch Light waste away from madness, until I, too, vanished with it.  I accepted your contract because it was something to do.”**

It lifted its eyes back to Yusei and Judai, somehow fixing them both with its stare at the same time.

**“But you surprised me.  The both of you. Each loop, you got a little bit closer.  And this time, you are closer than I dreamed imaginable.”**

“Closer to what?” Yusei whispered.

Darkness closed its eyes.  Yusei felt something in the darkness shift, something getting...gentler.

**“I do not remember ever feeling this alone,”** it said.

It stood up, and opened its eyes.  Its whole face softened with what seemed an uncharacteristic smile, even though it was on Judai’s face.  It extended one hand to the two of them.

**“You have come to me with wishes.  Perhaps it would not be too presumptuous to ask a wish of my own?”**

“What wish is that?” Judai said, and his hand tightened in Yusei’s.

**“Would you perhaps find it within your power to save us?”**

The light and the darkness both warped and wobbled.  Yusei grabbed for Judai’s hand. Before him, the world seemed to bubble, and the oily black Judai melted along with the white lump of light.  For just a moment, Yusei saw them— two massive dragons, one on the dark and one on the light. The massive black dragon, so dark that its scales glimmered with prismatic purples and blues, giant eyes staring down at him, and he thought that he had seen those eyes before— Hourglass Dragon.  And the other, beautiful and fragile, a slender snake of a dragon with three pairs of wings all down its prismatic length, fractals of light curling in a mane and horns from its head, bleeding red from the ragged hole where its heart should be.

He heard one last, desperate scream from the light, and then he woke up.


	39. Antlia

A hand dug into Yusei’s shoulder as he struggled awake, gasping for breath as though he hadn’t been breathing.  His vision cleared to look up at a pale-faced Crow, which made him think perhaps he really hadn’t.

“Oh thank god,” Crow said.  “Guys, he’s awake!”

“Judai’s coming to, too,” Yusei heard Johan say from across the room.

Yusei gasped, his chest heaving up and down so hard that his whole body shook.  His muscles spasmed a bit as though they were remembering how to move, and his arm nearly hit Crow.  Crow gripped his hand gently, and Yusei managed to reach over to grab his wrist.

“What...happened,” he choked out.

“Easy, easy,” Crow said.  “Take it slow. You...you and Judai have been unconscious for almost an hour.”

His vision blurred and darkened on the edges for a moment, and then it came back.  He could only lie there, breathing, his body too tired to move.

Asuka appeared in his field of vision, then, pressing her fingers to his temples and then checking his temperature.

“What year is it?” she asked him.

“It’s...20...2045,” Yusei gasped.

She nodded, her face softening with relief.

“Welcome back to the world of the living,” she said.  “You and Judai have been functionally dead for an hour.”

“Oh.  Great to know.”

He winced at a pain in his head, but despite Crow’s protests, he got himself to sit up.

“Where’s Judai?” he said.

“Had to pull out a cot to fit the two of you in here,” Crow said.

“I’m over here, speed racer,” Judai said, his voice sounding faint and exhausted.  “I’m alive.”

Yusei nodded as the relief made his body slump again.  He squinted, trying to figure out where they were.

He was on the couch in his own home.  They were packed nearly to bursting with people again, as their entire team was here.  Asuka and Crow hovered around Yusei. Jack was at the table drumming his fingers nervously, and Carly sat in front of him, his other arm absently rubbing her shoulder, and her leaning back against him.  Aki was on the other side of the table, looking haggard and nursing a cup of coffee. She smiled when Yusei looked at her, though, her shoulders slumping with relief.

Manjoume and Johan were behind him when he turned around, both of them fussing over Judai on the fold out cot.  Bruno was at his desk, wringing his fingers and not looking the least bit relieved. The twins...where were the twins?

“Where are Lua and Luka?” Yusei asked.

“Upstairs,” Crow said.  “Lua didn’t pass out, but he got super tired, and Luka took him upstairs to take a nap.  Shou’s up there with them.”

“It’s okay, I’m here now...”

Lua’s voice sounded uncharacteristically tired and sluggish, and Yusei looked up to the stairs to see the twins at the top of them.  Luka clung to her brother’s arm as though to help him stand up, and Shou was hovering behind them with his hands up, as though ready to catch Lua if he fell.

Lua looked exhausted, his whole body slumped.  He smiled, though, and made his slow, careful way down the stairs, with Luka and Shou’s help.

“Are you okay?” Judai asked, sitting up.

“Really tired,” Lua mumbled.  “And really...cluttered.”

He squinted, as though confused.

“I’ve got a lot in my head.  It’s...a lot.”

He almost sounded like he was talking with a brick in his mouth rather than a tongue, each word clunking and coming out with difficulty.

Yusei was coming back to himself, and he felt strong enough to stand, so he did, carefully walking around the couch to get to where Judai was sitting on the edge of the couch.

“So...what did we miss?” Judai asked.

“Well, we won,” Crow said.  “We’re in the final two for the WRGP.”

“Our opponent is someone called Team New World,” Jack said.  “And it’s them. The Yliaster trio.”

Yusei should have expected as much, but his heart sank anyway.  Judai reached for him as soon as they were close enough, grabbing hold of him and running his thumb over the back of his hand.

“What about Team Ragnarok?” he asked.  “They didn’t try anything?”

“Those two dragons made the Aesir vanish,” Aki said.  “Their power was...”

She trailed off, eyes glazing over, as though she had no words for it.

“It was the power from the beginning of the universe,” Carly said softly.  “The Aesir had much younger souls. They weren’t able to handle the power, so they had to retreat.”

Jack’s hand curled against her shoulder protectively, and she sighed, letting her head fall back onto his shoulder.

“The WRGP staff tried to have the two of you taken to a hospital, but we knew that wasn’t going to help, so we brought you here instead,” Asuka said.  “Team Ragnarok didn’t try anything, and we haven’t heard anything from them since.”

She put a hand on Judai’s shoulder as she approached, lightly, checking in on him.

“Are the two of you all right?  Like I said...neither of you were breathing.”

“We’re okay,” Judai said.  “Our souls were in another plane for a bit there.”

He squeezed Yusei’s hand, and Yusei remembered the dream all at once.  The haunting scream of the light echoed in the back of his head, and he shuddered.

“You met Light and Darkness, didn’t you?” Lua said.

Everyone looked at him, and Luka looked pale as she clung to Lua.  Lua tried to smile at hre reassuringly.

“I’m okay, Luka.”

“You’re not.  Any time you start to talk like this you get weaker.  You shouldn’t know things like this.”

“I have to, just a little longer,” Lua gasped.  He nearly stumbled, but Luka and Shou held him up.  “S-Sorry. I know a little bit, now, but I can’t know it all at once.”

He put his hand on his chest.

“I have something the Light needs.  I have its heart.”

Yusei remembered with a jolt, the image of the two dragons just before he woke up.  The white dragon had been bleeding, it had a bleeding red hole in its chest where a heart should be.

“I don’t understand,” he said, feeling weak and useless all of a sudden.  His knees buckled a bit. There was always just too much.

“I’m sorry, I’m having trouble knowing all of it,” Lua said, squinting.  “But...but I think they know more.”

“They?” Judai said.

A soft knock tapped against the door, and the whole room fell silent.  They all looked at each other, and around the room, nervous and twitching.

“It’s okay,” Lua said softly.  “They won’t try anything again.”

Yusei suddenly thought he knew exactly who was on the other side of the door.

“Yusei?” Crow asked softly.  He was the closest to the door, and he looked nervous, tense.  He was asking if he should open the door. Yusei licked his dry lips.  He looked at Judai. Judai shrugged helplessly, squeezing his hand a little tighter.

Finally, Yusei nodded.

“Go ahead,” he said.

Crow’s lips tightened together.  But he mounted the stairs up to the door.  The whole room got so tense and thick with nerves that Yusei nearly stopped breathing again.

Crow opened the door, and even from here, Yusei could see he was right.

Harald scowled at them, his lips pressed tightly together, looking stiff and straight backed.  Dragan looked just as surly, his arms folded, looming up over Harald. Brave was the only one in the entire room who looked relaxed.  He smiled and winked at Crow.

“Hey,” he said.  “Nice to see you all again.  Hope you don’t mind us dropping by.”

“What the hell do you want?” Jack said, shooting up to his feet and pulling Carly closer.

Aki was on her feet, too, and Yusei could taste the acrid scent in the air of her rose monsters getting ready to materialize.

Harald held up both of his hands, sighing.

“Peace,” he said.  “We lost. We no longer have quarrel with you.”

“They won’t fight us,” Lua said.  “Don’t worry. You two have the echoes of the dragons, anyway.  The Aesir can’t fight those.”

He looked at Yusei and Judai when he said this, and the two of them exchanged a glance.  Hourglass and Echo of Brilliance, Yusei thought. But what did that mean, the echoes?

“Not that I don’t trust Lua, but how do we know?” Yusei said, looking up at the trio.  “You’ve already tried to murder us once, and you’ve made it pretty clear what you think of us, and of trying to save the world.  So why are you here?”

Harald’s lips twitched downwards.

“I believed the universe was much like a living thing,” Harald said.  “That it was a large lifeform, and we were merely cells and atoms among it.  That for something so small to try and alter the course of its existence was the highest form of arrogance.”

He frowned, and then he let out a heavy sigh.

“But the two of you have shown me something I thought was gone.  That the Aesir thought was lost forever. And not only that, but it seems as though those things wanted to return, that they were speaking through you, rather than you dragging them back unwillingly for your own gain.”

_ He’s talking about the dragons _ , Yusei thought.   _ And...and the melody. _

He didn’t know how he knew that so clearly, but he could feel it.

“So perhaps I was mistaken in my conclusion,” Harald said.  “Perhaps you aren’t the meddlers I thought you were— perhaps you are the antibodies the universe has produced in order to heal itself, instead.”

“Well, that’s kind of a weird image,” Crow said flatly.

Harald ignored him.

“And if that is the case, then I have been reeducated, and I would like to offer my assistance.”

“Speak for yourself,” Dragan grumbled.  “You made me come along.”

He shot a glare at Jack, who glared right back.  Carly mumbled something to Jack about being choked, and he quickly stopped squeezing her so tightly.

“Peace, Dragan.  Accept your loss with grace,” Harald said.  “If we were defeated, it was the will of the universe.”

“Or we’re just better than you,” Judai said under his breath.  Yusei tried not to laugh.

The room fell quiet a moment longer, and everyone seemed uncertain of what to do or say, next.

Finally, Crow sighed, and held the door open.

“Well, get your asses in here, then,” he said.  “And tell us whatever it is you want to tell us.  I’m tired of having this conversation with us all spread out like this.”

*    * *

Harald placed the three Aesir cards on the table where everyone could see them.  It made Judai a little uncomfortable at first— gods always made him uncomfortable— but Harald didn’t have the intention of summoning them.  He and the other three’s rune eyes glowed, and then the cards glowed, too. The next thing Judai knew, there was an image projected over the table, like a hologram.

“All I know I’ve been told through the Aesir,” Harald said.  “And...as proven...some of their knowledge is less reliable than I first understood.  They are not the oldest gods in the universe, and were not there for much of this.”

He reached up and touched the nebulous silver cloud over the table, making the mist congeal into a shape: a dragon, Judai saw.

“I can’t prove or disprove any of this, either,” Harald said, sounding very annoyed with the fact.  “What I do know is that it seems the world was created by two major forces: Light, and Darkness. Traditionally, these two have taken the form of a dragon, though I suspect they are naturally formless beings.”

“I can confirm that,” Judai said.

“Oh,” Luka said, eyes widening.  “One of the creatures I met in the spirit world told me a story like this...”

She paled then, swallowing.

“It wanted to eat me because I was like one of those dragons,” she whispered.

Harald nodded, as though this were a normal thing to admit to have experienced.

“We cannot pinpoint the reason or cause, but something happened to Light and Darkness as the world went on.  The Aesir call it Madness.”

Judai felt Yubel shudder so deeply that it made him tense up.

“Yubel? What’s wrong?” he asked quietly.

Yubel moaned softly, and Judai felt a horrible, wrenching pain in her soul travel up to his, making him clutch at his chest briefly.

_ —I have felt this—  _ she said.  _ —Madness...that’s what touched me.  That’s what happened to me—  _

Judai remembered the horrible pain of fusing with Yubel, the awful, shuddering, splitting sensation that came from his soul instead of his body, as whatever Light was in Yubel was forced out in the face of his own Darkness.

“So the Light of Destruction...it’s Light with Madness,” he said, horrified now as he realized the full gravity of where that pain had come from. 

Harald nodded sharply.

“It’s a disease that affects gods, first, and trickles down through the rest of creation, destabilizing it,” Harald said.  “I thought it was simply natural, a way for the universe to eventually break itself down, but judging by the actions of Light and Darkness through the two of you, it’s clear that it’s not natural at all.”

“So how do we fight it?” Crow asked.  “Like...what do we  _ do _ ?”

Harald tapped his image again, and this time, it twisted and spread into two dragons, one dark, one light colored.  The light colored dragon split again, into six pieces this time— pieces that Judai recognized as the Signer’s marks.

“It seems that the Light, in order to preserve itself, attempted to split itself into pieces,” Harald said.  “It placed shards of itself into human beings.”

“That’s...us?” Aki said, breathing out.

Crow and Jack gripped their arms at the same time, and Luka looked pale.  Lua didn’t move. He looked like he wasn’t even listening, like his brain was somewhere else.  Judai felt sick— something was definitely wrong with Lua. His powers were overwhelming him. Maybe Fujiwara’s seal had been the right choice...

“That only accelerated its deterioration, however, in the main part of it that was left over after the split,” Harald said.  “And now that it seems you have righted Darkness, Darkness is overtaking Light. It’s an imbalance.”

“That’s what Yliaster is trying to fix,” said Johan.  “What you didn’t want us to fix.”

“Darkness doesn’t want to take over the Light,” Yusei said softly.  “It...it wants us to save it.”

Harald looked a little surprised for once when he looked at Yusei.  But he nodded slowly.

“Yliaster’s plans are incredibly primitive, and will do more harm than good,” Harald said.  “I was quite high ranked in the organization before I broke ties, so I know a little more.”

He eyed Judai and Yusei then.

“It was not just your meddling that made me target you two.  You two are integral to Yliaster’s plan.”

“How?” Judai said, leaning forward.  His heart hammered in his chest with panic.  He had known this for ages, known that Yliaster wanted him and Yusei, but he had never understood how.

“They are using the WRGP to collect dueling energy,” Harald said.  “Once they have filled their Circuit with energy, it will be enough to fold over time.  They plan to bring a future version of Neo Domino to this time frame, and crash the opposing Momentums into each other.”

A horrified silence filled the room.  

“Why  _ Momentum _ ?” Manjoume finally choked out.  “How is that going to help?”

“Momentum is...it’s unique,” Harald said, looking suddenly uncomfortable.  “It’s a pure energy. Even you don’t know exactly how it’s produced, do you, Fudo Yusei?”

Yusei startled a bit at the question, but he frowned, considering it.

“No,” he said slowly.  “It has something to do with the special gears and atoms, but...it makes sense when I look at it, but I couldn’t explain it.”

“Precisely.  Momentum energy is neither Light nor Darkness, and yet it has properties of both.  When it runs forward, it produces massive amounts of Light energy. When it runs backwards, it produces Darkness.”

Harald touched his image once more, and this time, two cities appeared, one on the ground, and one surging down from the air.

“Yliaster’s first plan with Momentum caused Zero Reverse, because they didn’t understand this.  They thought Momentum was Light, and they used the power of the Dark Signers to introduce Darkness, thinking the two would balance out.  Momentum, however, reacted to the Darkness by switching directions and emulating the introduced Darkness— it was all too much, and it overloaded.”

The two cities began to slowly crush down towards each other, and Judai felt like throwing up.

“So this time, the plan is to use two Momentums.  And...that is where you two come in.”

He looked up at Judai and Yusei, and the two of them jumped almost at the same time.

“Why us?” Yusei said.

“You ask that even after all you’ve done?” Harald said, raising his eyebrows.  “The two of you are what we call Channels. Of Light and Darkness, respectively.”

Yusei and Judai exchanged a glance.  That actually sounded familiar, but Judai couldn’t remember who had brought it up, or when.

“Channels are rare souls, closer to the forces of creation than anything else.  There’s usually only one in a generation. Having the two of you at the same time, one for Light and one for Darkness, is a one in a trillion chance of happening.”

“And that’s important to Yliaster because...” Yusei started.

“If they were to simply take two Momentums and crash them together, the machines would try to copy each other.  Momentum reacts to whatever is introduced to it and emulates it, so they wouldn’t have a Light and Darkness, they’d only have one of the two.”

“Oh, fuck,” Aki said, just as it dawned on Judai at the same time.  “They’re planning to use the two of them to keep each Momentum producing the right energy.”

“Exactly.”

Judai felt weak.  If he wasn’t here, in this timeline, this plan couldn’t work.  There’d be a Yusei for light, but no Judai for dark. Yliaster’s plan would be impossible but no, here he was, meddling, making things  _ worse _ ...

“But even that, I don’t think would be enough to cause a ReBalancing,” Harald said.  “It’s, as I said, primitive. It’s too much shoving forces against each other and hoping they’ll balance each other out in the meantime.”

“Does that mean there’s a right way to do it?” Judai asked.

Harald nodded.

“Of course there is.  That’s why I came to you all against my original intentions.  The only way to properly return the world to its order is to help the dragons become whole again.”

Judai reached for Yusei’s hand and gripped it tightly.

“Oh,” he said weakly.  “That’s all, is it?”

*    * *

Harald and his compatriots left soon after they had finished talking.  Yusei still felt dizzy, with everything.

“Do you think that’s why Fujiwara wanted to get rid of us, too?” Yusei said.  “Because he know what Yliaster was planning?”

The bed sagged behind Yusei, and he knew Judai was sitting down on the other end with his back to him.  He almost turned around, but not yet. He couldn’t get himself to move quite yet.

“I don’t know,” Judai said finally.  “Isn’t that stupid? All of this explanation, and I still don’t know the half of what’s going on.”

Now Yusei turned around, and he crawled over the bed to reach Judai and wrap his arms around his lover.  Judai melted back into his embrace. His hair tickled Yusei’s shoulder, and Yusei kissed Judai softly on the side of the head.

“We know enough,” he said.  “We know that all we have to do is stop Team New World.”

Judai laughed a little.

“Yup, that’s it.  Just gotta...find out where they’re hiding that Circuit, destroy it, and then hope that the creatures full to bursting with Mad Light aren’t going to kill us during or after we do that.”

Yusei pressed his face into the crook of Judai’s neck, just breathing in his scent.

“Judai,” he said softly, and Judai shivered at his breath on his skin.  “Breathe. There’s nothing we can do right now.”

Judai trembled slightly in his grip.

“I don’t want to lose you,” he whispered.  “Yusei, what if after all of this, I lose you again, and I have to start over without knowing what happened before?”

Yusei held him tighter, feeling Judai’s tears drip onto his arms.

“Then we’ll try again,” he said softly.  “And we’ll get even closer this time.”

“I’ll forget you,” Judai whispered.  “Yusei, I’ll forget you all over again.  I’ll forget this. How many times have we fallen in love and I just don’t remember it?  How many times have I lost you? What if this timeline is a fluke, and the next time, we won’t get to Hourglass or Brilliance or anything?”

Yusei moved over to Judai’s side, so that he could pull Judai into him.  His tears rolled down Yusei’s bare chest, and Yusei stroked his hair slowly.

“If we have to do it again, we’ll do it right,” he said.  “Because I love you, Judai, and if we really have fallen in love more than once, then I know we’ll do it again.  We’ll keep trying as many times as we have to, over and over and over again. And I know we’ll make it happen, because remembering this or no, there’s nothing we can’t do together.”

Judai broke down in Yusei’s arms, grabbing him around the waist and crying into his chest.  He trembled and shuddered. He didn’t resist as Yusei gently pulled him down into the bed and held him close, still murmuring and stroking his hair.

“I can’t lose you,” Judai whispered.  “I can’t lose you.”

Yusei kissed him on the forehead, and then briefly on the lips.  Judai held him there, though, desperate, and they kissed more ferociously, hands knotting into each other’s hair, Judai’s fingers trailing down Yusei’s spine and making him shiver.

They broke apart, and this time, Yusei’s eyes were blurred with tears, too.

“I can’t lose you, either,” he whispered.  “And that’s why we won’t. We won’t lose.”

Judai coughed a faint laugh.

“I love you,” he whispered.

Yusei pressed his forehead to Judai’s and closed his eyes, just breathing in his scent.

“I love you, too,” he whispered.


	40. Ara

God was crying again.

It grated on Luciano’s nerves, made him twitch and tremble.  He hated to admit the way the sound made him feel like he was about to fall apart.

It was wearing on Placido and Jakob, too, he could tell.  Even though Jakob was pretty much impossible to read with that stupid metal piece over his mouth, the large man was sitting very tensely, fingers drumming against his chair.  Placido, finally repaired and not looking the least bit mellowed out over it, had his fists in his lap, trembling like he wanted to punch something.

The world hadn’t turned white, yet, they were just in their little pocket dimension, sitting in their chairs, looking down over the Circuit.  It was nearly finished. Most of the paths were alight with energy that pulsed like arteries, spreading a bland white light over their robes from below.

And then everything was slowly, slowly eaten away by white, until there wasn’t anything except the three of them, hovering in the air.  Still listening to the faint, echoing, choking cries of God crying.

 _“Antinomy,”_ God’s voice reverberated.   _“Where is Antinomy?”_

The three exchanged glances.  This wasn’t the first time God had called for that name, and Luciano was pretty sure none of them knew who that was.  Sometimes Luciano thought the name sounded familiar, but when he thought too hard about it, it was like there was some kind of static, a blinding white static in his head covering up any images that the name might remind him of.  It hurt, so he didn’t push it.

“We don’t know, my lord,” Jakob said slowly.

God made a thin, keening sound.

_“I am running out of time.”_

Every time God spoke it was like a freezing cold ice had been injected into Luciano’s limbs.  He shivered.

“What would you have us do to serve you?” Jakob said.

God didn’t seem to be listening.  There was only a faint, mumbling static at the edge of Luciano’s hearing, more felt than heard.  He only caught various words and snatches: _“Antinomy....fixed...need to be....worn parts....can’t hold together....longer.....Ju— no, no, can’t call for you, I’m sorry.....don’t have the right...Antinomy, please...you promised...”_

The white flickered and swelled for a moment, and Luciano’s head pulsed with pain.  Then God settled, and exhaled.

_“The Circuit is almost complete.  Finish it with this coming duel.”_

“Of course, my lord,” Jakob said.

The white faded, and they were back in their usual pocket dimension, looking over the Circuit.  Luciano felt colder than ever, and he shivered.

It had never occurred to him before now, but he realized suddenly that he wasn’t exactly sure why he was here, or why he was doing this.  Or why he always thought of the white being as God.

He didn’t know.

He truly, legitimately had no idea why they were doing this.

*    * *

“I hate this plan,” Judai said, and Yusei wanted to agree, but he had to admit it was solid.

“You just don’t like being where you can’t see everyone at the same time,” Asuka chided him.  “Trust the rest of us once in a while to know what we’re doing.”

“It’s not a matter of trust,” Judai said, looking sick.

Yusei didn’t really blame him— he wasn’t a fan of splitting their forces, either.

He had spread out on the table a floor plan of the Public Security Bureau.  They had little to no leads about the Yliaster Emperors, as Godwin was dead and Fujiwara had not left his team with much information.  Their only lead was Jeager, the only person in Godwin’s employ who had been privy to all of the information Godwin knew about Yliaster, and he was being very difficult to contact.  Yusei had only managed to squeeze a couple of texts out of him after reminding him that he owed them after the Dark Signers. Even that hadn’t been much: just a tentative confirmation that yes, he had been in contact with Yliaster briefly after Godwin’s death, of course he had because one didn’t break off contact with such an organization so easily, and yes he might have maybe met the three Yliaster Emperors in question once or twice while they were using the Public Security Bureau building.

It wasn’t much, and Yusei was cursing not having the time to track him down and get more info out of him, but it was enough.  Yliaster was still probably making use of Security to keep track of things, just like they had through Godwin previously. Even if Jeager was acting director, there was probably some clues in there as to where Yliaster had hidden their Circuit.  The only way to save the world was to make sure that thing was destroyed, and that it couldn’t be used to fold over time.

“According to Mikage, no one’s been in the director’s office since Godwin died,” Yusei said, pointing to the part of the map where the office was.  “Ushio says there _is_ a director, officially, but no one’s met them, or even seen them.  Couple that with Jeager’s evasiveness, and I think our director is Yliaster itself.”

“Do you really think they’ll keep sensitive information in the director’s office?” Manjoume said.  “Seems too obvious.”

“Well, there’s only one way to find out,” Yusei said.  “And...like you’ve all said before...this is probably for the best.”

He looked at Judai and felt sick, and Judai wouldn’t quite look at him. He looked upset.

“If the two of you really are integral to Yliaster’s plan, it’s for the best that we don’t make it easy for them to snap you both up at once,” Johan said, though he didn’t look like he liked the idea either.  

“What if you guys need help during the duel?” Judai argued.  “What if...”

“Judai, I can handle it,” Aki said gently, putting her hand on top of his.  “Carly and I make a good team. We’ll be able to take care of everyone.”

“Splitting up is usually a bad idea in the movies,” Judai grumbled.

Yusei put his hand on Judai’s shoulder.

“I don’t like it either,” Yusei said softly.  “But they’re right. We can cover more ground this way, and make it harder for Yliaster to get the all of us.”

Judai gripped his hand on top of his shoulder, and pressed his lips together tightly.  Then he blew out, sighing.

“Fine,” he said.  “Fine. I’ll go with Johan and Bruno and we’ll case this joint.”

Yusei nodded.  He didn’t like this either, but Judai finally agreeing took a bit of weight off of his shoulders.

“The rest of Team 5Ds will take care of Team New World in the finals,” Yusei said.  “Lua...I hate to ask this, but you should stay here, with Shou and Manjoume.”

“I can help you better when I’m closer,” Lua said.

“You’re too tired to give us anymore energy,” Yusei said firmly.  “We have enough to handle ourselves out there. We want to keep all of the ones Yliaster wants out of their hands.  This is the safest place for you with all of the wards already around.”

Lua pouted, but Luka took his hand.

“It’s okay, Lua, I’ll stay here with you, too.  Asuka-sensei can take my place on the pit crew, if that’s okay.”

Asuka nodded.

The whole team just looked at each other for a moment.  Yusei inhaled, and tightened his grip on Judai.

“We’re going to do this,” he said softly.  “We’re going to win.”

“Of course we are!” Lua said, sounding more like himself for once as he punched the air.  “Knock ‘em dead!”

“We’ve got this,” Aki said, nodding with determination.

Jack just hmphed, and Crow punched him on the shoulder with the most bravado he could muster.  Yusei’s stomach was doing all kinds of twists and turns, but he had to stay strong. He had to hang in there, for everyone’s sake.

“We don’t have much time left,” he said.  “Let’s get going.”

The group broke, dispersing off in directions to make whatever preparations they needed to make.  Yusei turned to Judai, still holding his hand. Judai turned towards him reluctantly, almost pouting at him.

“If you get hurt,” Judai said, “I’ll never forgive you.”

“Tell that to yourself,” Yusei said, smiling as he brought Judai’s hands to his lips and kissed his fingers gently.  “I’ll be fine. You take care of yourself.”

“I always do that,” Judai said, and Yusei snorted.  “Hey, don’t laugh like that’s a joke.”

He leaned up to kiss Yusei fiercely on the lips, enough to take Yusei’s breath away.  They both gasped when they broke apart.

“Good luck,” Yusei whispered.

“You too,” Judai said back.

They lingered for just a moment longer.  Johan coughed softly, and Judai reluctantly let go of Yusei.  He didn’t say anything more— there wasn’t anything else they could say without dragging out the goodbye forever.

Yusei really hoped that this wasn’t the last time they were going to see each other.

He felt a soft touch on his elbow, and looked back to see Bruno there.

“It’s going to work out,” Bruno said, with his usual cheerful smile.  “Hang in there.”

Yusei managed a smile.

“Thank you,” he said.  “I wish I could be quite as optimistic.  Be careful out there.”

Bruno nodded.

“You too.”

“Don’t let Judai do anything too stupid.”

“I can’t promise that,” Bruno said with a faint laugh.  “Trust Johan more for that.”

Yusei actually chuckled.  Then he smiled, gripping Bruno’s hand briefly.

“Thank you,” he said softly.  “You joined us because you had nowhere else to go, and we got you mixed up in some really...messed up stuff.”

“It’s the least I can do,” Bruno said.

“No, the least we could have done was find a safer place for you to stay, not get you wrapped up in all of this when you don’t even know who you are,” Yusei said.  “I promise when this is all over, we’ll focus on finding your memories.”

Bruno just shook his head.

“You guys are my friends now,” he said.  “And I want to help. Even if it’s helping with something as ridiculous as this.”

Yusei had to smile.

“Thank you,” he said again.

“I promised to help you no matter what, Yusei, so that’s what I’ll do,” Bruno said.

He looked up to catch sight of Johan and Judai waiting, and nodded one last time at Yusei before hurrying to join them.  Yusei raised a hand in farewell as the three of them disappeared through the door. His hand dropped back to his side slowly.

 _Wait_ , he thought, thinking over what Bruno had said.   _When did you promise me something like that?_

*    * *

He needed Antinomy.  He was going to fall apart before it was all over.  Where was Antinomy? He couldn’t fix himself, he couldn’t put himself back together, he didn’t have time, he was running out of _time_ —

He needed someone else.  He needed...he needed someone, or something, something that could help him while Antinomy was gone.  He needed...someone. Please. He was so alone. Luciano, Placido, and Jakob had already left for their duel, and he was alone in his little world.  It was colder without the three of them, even though they didn’t produce heat. Even though they were barely more than dolls. He hadn’t spoken to a real human being in so long.  

He’d been alone for so long.  That was....necessary. He hated it, but it was necessary.  No one else could help him...he had made those mistakes too long ago, made mistakes that caused him to lose so many.  He didn’t want to lose anyone again, so he must be alone. Even when it hurt, he had to be alone...in order to fulfill the promise he had made, to save them.

And yet, no one would listen.  He had tried....he had tried to explain to Lua.  He thought Lua would understand, of all of them, that Lua would know him.  But he didn’t, and Lua was lost to him again, and he had to start over. He needed the last pieces, but they simply wouldn’t come to him.

 _Antinomy_ , he groaned again, as more pain ached through what remained of his body.   _Antinomy, where are you—_

Someone was in his room.

He felt the air part where a body was moving through it, the door opening up into the director’s office.  He heard the air vibrate when the woman’s voice swore, when she mumbled _what the hell is that_ , and then he felt her draw closer to the rip in the air that led to his empty little world.  He saw her peer in, her face going as white as his world, mouth dropping open.

She had a strong, powerful heart.  He could sense it even from here. Someone with a power like that...perhaps if Antinomy wasn’t here, then...

He met her at the rip, catching hold of her thoughts as his light illuminated her mind for him.  He could not physically meet her, but he could form a shape, build an illusion out of shards of light, something that she would want to see.

Sherry LeBlanc flinched when he wove his image right at the doorway of the rip, her eyes widening and face paling farther.  Her mouth dropped open and she nearly choked.

“Hello, Sherry,” he said to her in the guise of her father.

“You’re not real,” Sherry whispered.

“I’m not,” he agreed.  “Not real in the way you want me to be.”

“Who the fuck are you?”

He extended a hand, and Sherry stared at it.

“If you come with me,” he said.  “I know how to get back what you lost.”

Sherry stared at him with wide, horrified eyes.  He thought for a moment that she was more likely to hit him than to take his hand.

Something in her shifted and broke.  She reached for his hand.

“At this rate,” she whispered, as her warm hand met his icy one and she stepped through, “I’m willing to try anything.”


	41. Crater

_ Let me out.  Please. _

**I would be happy to if there was anything left of you** **_to_ ** **let out.  There is nothing left of you in this timeline.  You’ve been consumed.**

_ I have to protect them.  I have to save them. I’ll do anything for another chance. _

**And I would accept that contract if you had anything left to give.  Sleep. You’ll wake when it’s over.**

_ No, no, I can’t.  I can’t. You’re wrong, they won’t be able to do it.  Even if they can, it will... _

**Is one life truly worth the entire universe?**

_ He is, they both are, they’re worth everything.   _

**If they do not right the world, there will be nowhere for your son to live.  He’ll die either way. You must accept this.**

_ No, no, no, no, no!  I can’t! I can’t accept it!  There must be a way! _

**He’s already accepted it.  He’s already accepted the fate, he knows it already.**

_ You’d never understand, you have no heart, you don’t know what it is to love. _

**.....you’re wrong.**

_ What? _

**You’re wrong that I have never loved.**

_ I know you.  I’ve been a  _ part _ of you for so long.  I’ve let you live in my head, I’ve been your vessel, I’ve become part of you— I know you, and I know what you can feel.  You never made a heart. You aren’t like the Light. _

**Humans always think they know everything.  I have loved. Not as you do, but deeper, and longer.  There was a time that my entire existence was in loving them, before we lost everything to the Madness, and I forgot.**

_ I don’t understand.  Why are you telling me this? _

**Because I know what it is to lose.  I remember, now, what it means to love and to never want to lose again.  And I have the chance to regain who I loved. I thought that chance was lost forever.  I will not lose it now.**

_ I’ll lose him.  He’ll die. If they find out what he needs to do in order to bring back the Light, they’ll never do it. _

**Which is why I can’t let you go.**

**Because you would tell them.**

*    * *

“I really hate splitting up,” Judai mumbled to himself.  Yubel grunted in agreement in his head.

_ —Not that we have much choice, though—  _

Judai hovered nervously at the edge of a building, peeking around the corner towards the skyscraper down the block. The streets were shockingly sparse for a city of this size, but most people would be at work, and even more of them were inside watching the WRGP match, or at the stadium itself.  There were only small copses of people wandering the streets, or zipping along in their cars.

Johan patted Judai lightly on the shoulder and Judai gave him a forced smile.

“I feel like I should be back there,” he said.

He looked up at one of the big screens on the buildings nearby, which was broadcasting the WRGP.  He shuddered. The boy zipping out onto the field with his rollerblades was definitely the same kid who had kidnapped Lua that night, and Jack was going out to duel him right now.  

“I feel like I should be back there helping.”

“I know,” Johan said softly.  “But we can do more for them here.”

“And if Harald is right, and Yliaster needs both you and Yusei,” Bruno said.  “Then it’s probably better not to have you both in one place and make it easier for them.”

Judai bit his lip.  They both made sense, but he still felt awful being far away from Yusei, not being there to support and protect everyone.

“Aki and Carly can take care of things,” Johan said, squeezing his shoulder reassuringly.  “And Yusei and the others can take care of themselves.”

Judai ripped his eyes away from the screen with some difficulty.

“Right,” he said, his stomach still twisting.  “Well, let’s see what we can do.”

The Public Security Bureau, and the director’s office at the top, was their target.  Luckily, Yusei knew people.

The doors slid open when they approach; the lobby was public enough.  Ushio was already waiting for them, looking tense, arms folded tightly and fingers drumming against his arm.  The woman that must be Mikage stood next to him, her face white and hands clasped

“Bout time,” Ushio grumbled.

“We didn’t keep you waiting that long,” said Judai.  “Are you sure this is okay?”

“Okay that we’re risking our jobs?  Well, since the alternative is the end of the world, I think it’s worth it,” Mikage said, but her smile was strained.  “We can get you to the top floor, but neither of us have clearance for the director’s room.”

“That won’t be a problem,” said Bruno.

Judai licked his suddenly dry lips, feeling parched.  Not that there was time to get a drink.

“The duel is going now, so this is our best shot,” said Johan, looking at his watch.  “Let’s not waste time.”

Despite the tension and ticking clock, everyone hesitated, just looking at each other for a moment.  Their last match with Ragnarok had felt like a final boss. This felt like the secret boss, Judai thought.  He was more on edge than ever before.

“Let’s go,” Mikage finally said, breaking the moment and turning on her heel.

She led the way to the elevator and keyed in a code.  Judai hopped in when she stepped back, and Ushio handed off a keycard to Bruno as he and Johan followed Judai inside.

“That’ll get you through the first set of doors,” Ushio said.  “We’ll keep an eye on things from the control room and make sure nothing else funny is going on.”

“The building isn’t empty, so be careful when you get out,” she warned,leaning in through the doors to hit the right floor button.  “If anyone asks, say you’re here for a server update.”

“Got it,” Johan said. “Thank you so much again.”

“Bring this bullshit to an end and that’s all the thanks we need,” Ushio said gruffly.

Mikage leaned back out of the elevator and stepped back.  She smiled tensely and then doors slid shut on the both of them, leaving Judai and the others in the elevator.

There was no conversation as they made their way up to the top floor.  Judai couldn’t have spoken if he wanted to. He felt like he was choking on his own anxiety.

The elevator dinged softly, and the doors slid open.

A long hallway with a lot of doors on either side greeted them, and there was one set of doors at the very end.  Those would let them through to the private side of the floor, and that would get them to the elevator that went up to the director’s floor.

Judai led the way down the hall, moving as quickly as possible past open doors so that people in offices wouldn’t notice them.  He didn’t look in the rooms, but he thought someone must have noticed them because he heard Johan call out a cheerful “here for a server update” to someone.

They made it to the doors without incident.  Bruno used Ushio’s key card to unlock the door, and they were in.  They went through the last hallway— most of the office doors were closed in this one— and to the elevator on the other side.  Bruno immediately got to work on the keypad, plugging in a small screen with a long wire. He fiddled with some numbers on the screen for a moment, and then there was a soft click, and the elevator doors slid open.  Judai held his arm out to keep the doors open while Johan and Bruno slipped, and then he fit in after them.

This elevator ride was much shorter, and when the doors opened, they were faced with nothing but a hallway towards a single set of doors; windows covered the walls on either side of them and let light flood through, and there were potted mini trees staggered along the hallway on either side.  It was so cheerful that Judai almost fell over from the sheer contrast of it to his nerves.

He didn’t let himself hesitate, though.  He didn’t know how far along the duel with Team New World was, yet, or how much time they had.  He led the way again to the doors. These, too, were locked, so Bruno plugged in his device again and got to work.  It took a few moments longer than the elevator, and the panic was starting to rise in Judai’s throat. What were they going to find?  What if they found nothing and this was all a pointless endeavor?

The door clicked open, and Johan pulled it back.  Judai tensed: despite everything, all of his nerves, he really thought that logically, there was probably nothing to worry about.  It was an empty office for all he knew, dusty and cluttered, nothing but books and files and papers and a desk.

Even his wildest nerves could not have prepared him for what was in the room instead.

“Holy  _ fuck _ .”

It was an ordinary office, actually.  A desk, large windows in the back, some books and papers stacked on the counter, a plant.  But those normal parts ended abruptly at the tear in the fabric of reality right over the desk.

Judai grabbed Johan and Bruno in both hands before they could move around the doors.

“You guys both see that, right?  It’s not just me?”

“See what?” asked Bruno.

“I see it,” Johan said, his voice trembling with tension.  “Bruno, stay in the hall.”

Bruno looked dumbfounded, but he nodded, hanging back.  Judai didn’t even want to step into the office. What could  _ cause _ something like that?

He examined it closely with Yubel’s eyes.  It was a rip in the air, ragged along the edges like torn paper, approximately wide enough for a person his size to fit through without trouble, but hovering about three feet off the ground.  The hole itself was difficult to parse, it was so bright and there was so much light spilling out of it that it was almost blinding to look at. Judai’s stomach twisted with an automatic sickness.

“It’s Light,” he said.  “It’s the Light of Destruction.”

“I had a feeling,” Johan muttered.  He reached up to touch something Judai couldn’t see, but when he switched his vision over, he noticed the tangle of threads that were growing out of the hole and down the hall.  Judai wasn’t the best at thread-reading, so he waited for Johan to examine them.

“It’s impossible to tell the origin or purpose of any of these threads; all of them have been bleached out by that light,” Johan said, sounding nervous.  “I think we found the boss room.”

Judai laughed nervously.  His heartbeat thrummed in his chest, and he could feel Yubel’s scales shuddering beneath his skin, her fangs aching to come out in preparation for battle.  But Judai couldn’t even look at that Light without being sick. How was he supposed to deal with this?

“Bruno, can you give us an update on how the duel is going?” Judai asked, feeling twitchy.  He wanted to know how Yusei and the others were doing before they made any sudden moves. He didn’t know what, or who, was on the other side of that rip, and he was wary to go in just yet.  It could, conceivably, be empty of course. Team New World was out on the field— but then there was the fourth figure who had appeared in that video message, the one who had demanded that they continue the tournament and insisted that they were not enemies, the one who had been the Light itself, the one he had encountered at EnerD when he had rescued Lua.  Judai wasn’t prepared to face that, and he definitely wasn’t prepared to drag Johan and Bruno in on the battle it was sure to become.

Bruno hadn’t responded.  Judai blinked, and looked over his shoulder.

“Bruno?”

Bruno was crouched on the floor, his hands clamped to the sides of his head, curled up over his knees and choking for air.

“Bruno!”

Johan leaped to his side first, grabbing hold of his shoulder.

“Bruno!  What’s wrong?  Can you breathe??”

“What happened??” Judai gasped.

“I don’t know!  I didn’t see or sense anything— ”

Bruno let out a sound from deep in his throat that Judai could only label as inhuman.  It didn’t seem possible that human vocal chords could make such a shrill sound, like the feedback of a mechanical malfunction.  Judai nearly screamed himself, clamping his hands over his ears to block it out.

He switched to Yubel’s vision again and tried to see what was wrong, tried to see if there was any magic, any shadows, if maybe Fujiwara was involved again somehow— 

Light.  All he saw was Light, pulsing through Bruno’s veins like blood, like he was running on it, like he was  _ made up _ of it.  Judai almost threw up.  For a moment, his vision whited out from the sheer brightness of it.

And then he felt a much too strong arm wrapping around his throat and squeezing and he gasped.  His vision flooded back and he scrabbled against the arm— his claws burst free from his fingers and he clawed at the person holding him but all he managed to do was make some awful, awful screeching sounds like he was running his nails down a metal board.  He kicked out, he wriggled and flailed, but no matter how enhanced his strength became, it somehow wasn’t enough. His captor had him held firmly, more firmly than anyone had any right to be able to pin him down, and he was trapped and his vision was starting to black out at the edges.

“Bruno!” he heard Johan screaming.  “Bruno, put him down!! What the fuck are you doing??”

“Sorry,” he heard Bruno whisper, his voice thin.  “But that’s not my name.”

Judai was blacking out.  It was getting too hard to lift his arms.

_ I’m not even sure how we fucked this one up _ , he thought as his vision began to disappear.


	42. Carina

“And there it is, Luciano’s life points have hit zero!  Jack Atlas has scored the first victory for Team 5Ds, and Team New World’s second runner is headed out!”

_ That was too easy, _ Yusei thought, his heart fluttering.   _ That was way too easy. _

He glanced up at the screen over head, and though it was hard to see Jack’s face while he zoomed past, his visored helmet obscuring his eyes, Yusei could tell that Jack was thinking the same thing.

Yusei watched as the smaller boy on rollerblades zipped back into the pit, sending Yusei a wide grin from the other side of the track.  He tensed— it didn’t feel like it had been that long ago since Luciano had kidnapped Lua right in front of them, and now they were expected to duel against these...whatever they were, in front of a live audience who had no idea what was really happening.

He was glad that Lua wasn’t here.  He would have felt too tense having him under the eyes of the people who had tried to kidnap him.  Still, nerves claimed his throat and squeezed away any of his words, and he picked his phone from his pocket to send a quick check-in message to Shou, to see how the twins were doing.  Shou responded immediately and said everyone was fine, nothing was happening. They were just watching the duel on TV. Lua said to tell Jack good job.

Yusei cracked a half smile, and leaned back over the pit crew console.

“Jack, how is it looking?” Yusei asked.

_ “Too easy,” _ Jack snorted back.  His white D-Wheel streaked past the pit without slowing down, and Placido pealed out from the other side.   _ “I don’t like it.” _

“Keep an eye on those backrow cards that Luciano left behind,” Asuka said into her headset.  “I don’t like the look of them. I’m guessing they’re setting something up.”

Yusei wrung his hands together briefly.  He wished Judai was here, so that he could grab hold of his hand. As it was, he had nothing to reach for.  Crow leaned against the railing, his shoulders tense up around his ears and looking nervous. Aki and Carly were closer to the starting line, Carly on her tiptoes and squinting at the big screen.  When Yusei glanced over to the pair of them, Aki looked up. She tapped on Carly’s shoulder and said something that Yusei couldn’t hear from here, and Carly responded. Aki looked back at Yusei and sent a thumb’s up.  Carly hadn’t seen anything out of the ordinary, then.

_ This is too...straightforward, and easy, _ he thought, as Placido started his turn against Jack.   _ It’s too much like an ordinary finals match in a tournament.  No magical bullshit, no obvious cheating, they’re just...playing the game _ .

He tightened his hands together and tried to pretend that he was holding Judai’s hand.  

_ Judai, I hope things are going all right, _ he thought.   _ I hope you’re okay. _

*    * *

Judai didn’t even have the energy to kick anymore.  He just hung there, mouth gaping for air that he wasn’t going to get, his feet dragging as Bruno hauled him backwards into the office.

Johan tried to make a lunge forward, but he flinched back at a sudden spray of sparks.  Judai didn’t even have the presence of mind to figure out where that had come from. He could feel the harsh, burning sensation of the light from the rip in space behind him, and knew that Bruno was taking him back into the rip.  The Light was starting to become even more uncomfortable than his lack of air, and he was surprised that he hadn’t blacked out yet. When had Bruno gotten this strong, even stronger than him with Yubel’s strength?

“Bruno, stop!  Put him down! What are you doing?”

“I have to keep my promise,” Bruno said.  “I’m sorry. I just remembered. It tried to make me forget, but I just remembered my promise and I have to keep it.”

Bruno’s voice didn’t even sound the same, but maybe that was the lack of oxygen.  Judai’s eyes rolled upwards as the last of his consciousness began to break up, and then he felt the tug and tear of the light burning his skin while they fell through the hole, and he was enveloped in light.

*    * *

Lua suddenly sat up stock straight, his eyes widening.  His gaze focused on something other than the television, mouth dropping open.

Luka flinched at the sudden motion.  She sat up, too, grabbing for Lua’s hand.  Was he having an episode?? Was something else wrong?  Manjoume jumped a little from where he was behind the couch, and reached over to grab Lua’s shoulder.

“Hey,” he said.  “Hey, what’s wrong?  Are you okay?”

Lua just sat there for a moment, staring, mouth hanging open, and not responding.  Not even twitching; she wasn’t even sure if he was breathing.

“Oh,” Lua said then, his throat choked.  “J-Judai’s gone.”

*    * *

He pushed himself through the membrane between reality and possibility, dragging the limp body in his arms with him.  Judai wasn’t dead; he wasn’t weak enough for this to kill him, but he was neutralized, for the time being.

Antinomy’s head ached, but the light was soothing as he let it envelop him, closing his eyes and sighing with relief.  Home. He was finally home.

How long had it been?  How long had he forgotten, for?  Why had no one come looking for him?  Had the Light obscured even his memory from his friends when it had stolen him away?  

Antinomy shook his head.  Now wasn’t the time to think about how or why.  Right now was the time that he had to keep his promise.

He heard Johan still shouting and screaming behind him, but the sound was muffled and far away.  The faintest pang of guilt assaulted him.

_ I don’t have time to explain _ , he thought.   _ I’m sorry, everyone...but you all don’t understand.  You don’t understand what we need to do. _

He let himself think, briefly, of the people he was now effectively betraying now that his memories were returned to him.  Jack would certainly punch him if he knew. Crow, too. He winced with a little bit more guilt. He forced himself to remember, then, his promises.  He couldn’t break them, and he knew, more than anyone, that this had to be done. Judai and the others would agree if they had the time to listen. If only the Light hadn’t stolen his memories...why would it have done that?  He was trying to help save it, all this time...

Either way, Johan wouldn’t be able to get into this world easily; his soul had too much shadow in it for him to fall into this pocket dimension as easily as Antinomy did.  It was, of course, his own copious amounts of light that had made it so easy for the Light to steal him, but he hadn’t had a choice in that matter.

Judai was a bit of a pain to drag through; if Johan had too much shadow, then Judai was nearly  _ all _ shadow.  His soul resisted the transfer, but Antinomy managed to fold enough light over the top of him like a cloak for him to pop through.  It wasn’t going to be pleasant for him, but that was the sacrifice he had to make.

“Just calm down,” he whispered, not that Judai could hear him anymore.  “I promise, we’re doing the right thing. This is what you would have wanted to do, too, if you had only listened before.”

He pulled Judai after him as they floated downwards into the tiny pocket dimension.  It was exactly the same as when he had been here before, except that there was one less throne than before.  The Light had even erased the fact that he existed here, somehow. There were only three large thrones on pillars, each one slightly taller than the last, and in the middle on a large metal plate was the Circuit.  

Neat lines like a city plan were embossed along the surface of the metal plate, and nearly every line flowed with a beautiful, multicolored light.  The Circuit was nearly complete! There was almost enough energy here to cause the time fold. How long  _ had _ he been amnesiatic?  He would have to hurry, before the Light could steal away his memories again and make him unable to complete what he needed to do.

He touched down lightly on the ground, still dragging Judai along.  Now...where was...

He felt the ripple in the air and soothing, warm presence fell over him.  He felt, rather than heard, the voice fall over him.

_ “Antinomy,” _ ZONE breathed.   _ “There you are...where have you...been...” _

Antinomy’s heart fluttered with panic.  ZONE’s voice sounded so weak, and it was glitching at the edges.  He had been away for too long.

“I’m so sorry,” he gasped.  “ZONE, I’m so sorry. I don’t know why, but I forgot.  My memories were stolen from me.”

_ “Sh....sh...it’s...it’s all right...I’m not angry...I...I missed you...” _

He heard ZONE’s voice crackle and break up.  

“I need to check your status,” Antinomy said, heart leaping with nerves.  “Give me just one moment— I...I managed to bring the Shadow Channel with me.”

Judai hung limp from his grip, and he could feel ZONE’s eyes roving over him.  A ripple of static that might have been a faint moan shuddered Antinomy’s bones.

_ “Thank you,” _ ZONE said softly.   _ “The Ark Cradle is not yet ready.  Please give him to me.” _

Antinomy released Judai, and as though he had been there from the first place, ZONE’s huge mechanical body appeared.  He was the shape of a conch shell, almost, floating in midair, with large mechanical arms sprouting from either side. He caught Judai in one large hand, and Judai just laid there, limp, not even grabbing for air.  One didn’t need to breathe in this dimension, and the light was probably still suffocating him. ZONE held him very gently, and Antinomy could feel the heavy sigh reverberate from him. 

Then his mechanical body sagged, and Judai nearly slipped from his fingers.  Antinomy lunged forward, putting his hands on the body.

“I’m so sorry,” he said.  “I’ve been away too long. Let me fix you.”

_ “There is...no time,” _ ZONE said, voice racking with cough-like static.   _ “The Heart.  We must have the Heart.  Aporia gathers the last of our energy for the Circuit now...the Ark Cradle approaches, and we will need the Heart.” _

“I’ll retrieve it, I swear,” Antinomy said.  

_ “I have...already sent someone to gather the Heart.  I need...I need you...to...” _

ZONE sagged again, and Antinomy grabbed hold of him, as though he could hold him up by himself, but even in the world of light, he was too heavy.

ZONE let out a mechnical whine.  He lifted up Judai again.

_ “Take him to the Ark Cradle,” _ ZONE said.   _ “I am...not strong enough.  Antinomy, please...hurry...we are running out of time to save it...” _

Antinomy gathered Judai back up, heart shuddering with panic.  He wanted to be here, he wanted to stay here and fix ZONE’s ailing parts, he had been away for so long and ZONE had deteriorated so fast.  It was his fault, it was his own fault for letting his memories be taken away. His own fault for letting this happen.

No, there was no time for guilt and self-deprecation.  ZONE was right, they had to hurry.

He pushed softly into the light, and let it take him where he needed to go.

_ I’m sorry, Yusei, _ he found himself thinking.   _ I know I promised you I’d take care of Judai... _

_...but I promised you I’d help you save the world, too. _

*    * *

He didn’t know where he was.  All he knew was that it burned.  It burned his skin, his lungs, his eyes.  He couldn’t see, he couldn’t breathe, he didn’t even know if he was alive.  It encased him, suppressed him, pressed down on him like walls crushing in on either side of him.  He couldn’t move, or maybe it was that he didn’t have a body to move at all. He wanted to scream, but he didn’t have air. He didn’t even know if he had lungs, but if he was breathing, he was breathing in liquid fire. He thought he might have heard a voice screaming in his head, but he wasn’t sure if it was his own, or if it belonged to the other being in his soul whose name he could not remember with the blinding, burning sensation obscuring his mind from anything except the pain.

He thought he might have heard voices, but he couldn’t make any sense of them, as though they were a whole other language being spoken through water while he was submerged.  He felt something very cold cup him for a moment, like he was being held in a giant hand. And then he slipped, again, and he was floating.

The light was so hot that he thought that he was going to burn to death.  He couldn’t recognize anything or anyone or even his own position in space.  He was going to die like this. What if he died? What was he going to do? Yusei.  He was...he was letting Yusei down. He was leaving Yusei. He had to...he had to do something...

Then he felt something tighten around the core of his stomach. Something like a rope being yanked on heavily.  He felt a sparkle, a fizz run down it. It was hard for his brain to maintain any semblance of coherency, but he thought he recognized this.  It was...it was some kind of thread magic, someone had grabbed hold of one of his threads, and they were using it to track him down. Johan was the only person he knew with enough understanding of threads to do that, but would he really be able to follow him— 

He felt an awful yank, and then a cold magic enveloped him, sealing him off against the light, and for a moment, everything was dark and squished and his whole body was compressing inwards into the tiniest point.

And then he popped back and gasped for air, real light flooding his vision, colors and solid things that cast normal shadows and he could feel his body and the cold marble floor under his cheek— 

He staggered to his feet.  For a moment, he was so dizzy that he almost fell over again, he didn’t know where he was or what he was doing, and normal air felt icy cold to his light-burned skin.  Yubel’s thoughts rattled around along with him, frantic and panicking, and neither of them could disentangle themselves from each other for a moment.

Then he felt something warm and fuzzy press itself to his cheek, a weight on his shoulder, and he leaned back against a wall to steady himself, blinking and gasping.  He was...he was back. He was back in the office, the rip of light was still there over the desk, he was in the threshold of the door and leaning against the frame. How had he gotten back...?

A frantic chirping sound and fuzz rubbing against his face brought him back to his senses.  He reached up to his shoulder.

“R-Ruby...?” he gasped, hands tangling into Ruby Carbuncle’s fur.

Ruby’s eyes were inches from his, huge and black.  Carbuncles didn’t have a spoken language, but he received some impressions and images that flooded through his brain.  Johan at the edge of the rip, unable to get inside the dimension. Johan grabbing hold of one of Judai’s threads. Johan casting a spell and vanishing, Judai appearing in his place flailing and gasping.

_ Oh fuck _ , Judai thought, paling.   _ Johan cast a switch spell.  He switched places with me to get me out of there. _

Fuck, fuck, fuck...Johan was in there!  And— and Bruno, something was wrong with Bruno, he had gone  _ crazy _ , the light had maybe taken him over, or worse, maybe he had been a sleeper agent the whole time, and now Johan was with Bruno wherever Judai had been taken, and dealing with the awful burning light— 

He tried to lunge towards the rip again, and Ruby bit him on the cheek.  It chirped more insistently, angrily, feeding him more impressions. Johan had talked to Ruby before he cast the spell, instructing Ruby to pass on a message.  The memory replayed back in blurry, half-finished images.  _ Tell Judai to get back to Yusei!  Get back to him right now! Don’t worry about me! _

“How am I supposed to not worry about him??” Judai demanded.  “He’s—”

Ruby sent him an image of bright white light, and Judai shuddered.  Ruby was right. Judai couldn’t handle that world, he was too much shadow.  Johan was a more balanced soul, he’d probably be more coherent in there than Judai was...but...he couldn’t just...

Ruby impressed him with an image of Yusei keeled over with pain.  Judai shut his eyes against his tears. Ruby and Johan were right, if this had happened to him, he had to get back to Yusei  _ now _ , and make sure he was safe.

“I’m sorry,” he gasped to Johan.  “I’ll come back for you, I swear!”

Ruby still clinging to his shoulder and tears rolling down his eyes, Judai turned and bolted from the office.

He didn’t have time to spare.  He just let his wings unfurl from his back, and crashed straight through the hallway windows.

*    * *

“What do you mean Judai’s gone?” Manjoume demanded.

“Manjoume, calm down,” Shou said.

Luka gripped her brother’s hands, feeling panic closing up her throat.  Lua was just sitting there, tears rolling down his cheeks, mouth hanging open.

“I can’t feel him,” he said.  “He disappeared. He’s— he’s out of my reach, how could he be out of my reach, the shadows are just  _ gone _ —”

He gasped and choked then, bending over his knees and Luka flinched.

“Lua!  Lua, please just breathe!” she begged.  On the television screen, the announcer declared another victory for Team 5Ds; Jack Atlas defeated Team New World’s second runner, Placido, already, and their third runner, Jakob, was on the way out.

Lua sat there with his head between his knees, just breathing, still clinging to Luka’s hand.  The panic seemed to break all at once, and he slumped.

“He’s back,” he said.  “Judai’s back. I don’t know where he went, but he’s back, I felt him come back.”

The relief snapped through the room like a string being cut, and Luka could just feel all three of them slump.

And then someone kicked the door open, and the tension all flooded back.  Manjoume swore, Shou leaped to his feet, Lua flinched, Luka screamed.

At the top of the stairs stood Shery LeBlanc.

The woman’s eyes cut through the room for a moment, everyone frozen in place.  What...what was she doing here? Luka hadn’t seen her since she had stormed out after Johan had talked about Yliaster.

Sherry’s eyes fell on Lua, then.  Luka’s eyes flickered back to her brother, and she saw him blanch.

“S-Sherry-san, you didn’t,” he said.

Sherry lifted up her arm and turned on her Duel Disk.

“I’m going to need you to come with me, Lua,” she said.


	43. Leo

It all happened so quickly.

Yusei leaped onto his D-Wheel, revving it up, waiting with a growing panic in the base of his throat for Crow to make it back.  After what felt like hours but was probably only seconds, Crow edged the Blackbird back into the pit, looking pale and haggard. He was bent over his handlebars like he was in physical pain, and every breath sounded like it was ripped out of his lungs reluctantly.

“I’m sorry,” he gasped, ripping the patch off of his arm and slapping it onto Yusei’s arm.  “I’m sorry I couldn’t do more!”

Yusei hesitated just long enough to grip Crow’s elbow with reassurance, and then burst onto the circuit.

His heart roared in his head, louder than the hum of his D-Wheel against the pavement.  

Jakob was already on the field waiting for him, the final and gigantic Meklord Emperor looming overhead.  A brief spike of panic clenched over Yusei’s chest again. He couldn’t believe this had happened so quickly.  One moment, Jack was defeating Placido and moving on to Jakob— the next moment, Jack was barely avoiding a deadly crash, taking physical damage from the Solid Vision monsters, and barely making it back to the pit.  And the moment after that, Crow, too, was taken out. Yusei and Jakob were all that was left, and Yusei was once again alone and facing down the biggest threat to them so far.

He heard a soft humming at the edge of his mind, and Black-Winged Dragon swooped down to fly alongside him.  A warm, soft sort of feeling wrapped around him, as though the dragon were wrapping its wings around him. He couldn’t hear words, not like he had started to be able to with Stardust, but he had the sense that Black Winged Dragon was trying to comfort him.  A faint smile grew in spite of everything. Crow had done everything in his power to leave Black-Winged Dragon behind for him— he wasn’t alone after all.

“All right,” he whispered to the dragon.  “What do you think? Think we can win?”

Black Winged Dragon actually responded, lifting its head up and letting out a furious cry, like a hawk.  It was raring to battle, at least.

“You’re a fool, Fudo Yusei,” Jakob spat at him.

The huge, hulking man fell back to keep pace with Yusei, and Yusei’s stomach twisted to even look at him.  He was human in shape, but half of his body was folded back in strange, unnatural positions to plug himself into his D-Wheel.  He had known that Placido could combine with his D-Wheel in a similarly robotic way, but it had never occurred to him that all three of them could be androids as well.  It made him feel sick to see the human like figure twisted and strangely positioned the way that it was, his body constantly reminding him of how unnatural it was.

“That creature is a Synchro monster,” Jakob said.  “And you’ve already seen how my Granel can handle those.  You’ll be dead in an instant.”

“We’ll see about that,” Yusei said, as Black Winged Dragon snarled in response.  “My turn! I draw!”

He took a look at his cards.  He didn’t have too much that he could do against Jakob’s Granel with 12000 attack at the moment, but he could defend.

“I switch Black Winged Dragon to defend position, and then I normal summon Wave Wall in defense position as well!  Then I set two cards and end my turn!”

Black Winged Dragon pulled its wings inwards, swooping lower as though to put itself between Yusei and Jakob.  Meanwhile, his second monster appeared, a trio of etched pillars that sprouted out of the ground and clattered distantly, as though there were something inside the stone making sound.

“My turn!” Jakob called, drawing his next card so violently that it sent a burst of wind at Yusei, making his D-Wheel wobble.  “Granel attacks Black Winged Dragon! And by Granel Attack’s effect, Black Winged Dragon will be equipped to Granel!”

“No it won’t!  Wave Wall can negate your attack once per turn!”

The three pillars glowed with a red light spreading across the ground between them, clattering more insistently.  Three red lasers burst from their tops, drawing a magic circle in the air in front of Black Winged Dragon. Granel’s massive metallic arm bounced off uselessly, and the monster withdrew.  A harsh buzzing sound assaulted Yusei, and he gasped, nearly choking on the sound.

“Very well, Fudo Yusei, but your defender won’t remain for long,” Jakob said.  “I activate my face down card, Attack Cannon! I send Granel Attack to the Graveyard to destroy one monster on your field, and my target is Black Winged Dragon!”

Granel’s arm detached from its side, and exploded forward like a rocket.  Black Winged Dragon swooped to meet it, throwing its sinuous body in between it and Yusei.  It shrieked as it exploded into shards, and Yusei threw one hand over his head.

“I’m sorry,” he gasped.  “Thank you.”

He smacked at his Duel Disk.

“I activate my face down, too!  When a Synchro monster is destroyed, I can special summon one from my Extra Deck with zero attack and its effects negated, of the same type and level as the one destroyed!  Stardust Dragon, come forth!”

A fizz sprinkled down his arms as Stardust appeared in a flash of light.  It let out a long keen, an eager battle cry that made Yusei’s skin buzz.

Jakob only snorted, and sped up to overtake Yusei and go ahead.

“I normal summon Granel Attack 3,” he said.  A new arm for the hulking robot appeared, attaching to the socket and screwing in.  It was a much more deadly looking cannon that made Yusei’s stomach turn. “Then I activate the Speed Spell, Silent Burn!  I deal three hundred points of damage for every monster I have this turn that did not attack, and each part of Granel counts as a separate monster!”

Yusei grit his teeth— then an awful, ripping, burning sensation cut through him and he screamed.  That— that had been  _ real _ .  No wonder Crow and Jack were in such bad condition.  It took everything he had to blink past the tears in his eyes from the rocking pain, but he came out of it when Stardust roared.  

He had to win this fast, or he might actually die.

Gritting his teeth, Yusei pulled ahead.

“Why are you doing this, anyway?” he shouted at Jakob.  “What purpose does destroying the city accomplish? Why do you hate Synchro monsters so much?”

“We do not hate,” Jakob responded, and Yusei was actually just surprised to get a response.  “We simply are here to heal the open sore.”

“What?”

“Synchro monsters are overwhelmingly light,” Jakob said, matter of factly, like he was a school teacher teaching that one plus one equaled two.  “This era is overwhelmingly imbalanced in favor of light, while darkness grows weak.”

He shifted his eyes over to Yusei, impossible to read with his bushy eyebrows and the massive metal mask over his mouth.

“You have no idea what is in store for this city without our meddling,” he said.  “We are not here to destroy it, Fudo Yusei— this city’s destruction is already assured.  But we shall use the ashes of this city in order to save the rest of the world, and the universe itself.”

Yusei could hardly understand what he was hearing.  He knew that Yliaster wanted to cause the ReBalancing, but to say that their precious city was already doomed?  That they wanted to  _ save _ the world?  

“I won’t believe that,” Yusei swore.  “This city won’t die— I’ll find a way to save it, and the rest of the world, too!”

Jakob huffed softly.  There was nothing cruel or angry about the sound, it just sounded resigned.

“Would that we could always have such youthful hope,” he said.  “But it is too late, Fudo Yusei. It has always been too late. We must save what we can.  And that means I must destroy you.”

“You won’t win,” Yusei swore.  “You won’t win!!”

He put his hand on his deck, fingers curling against the next care.

“My turn!  Draw!”

Stardust hummed insistently at him.   _ I want to fight _ .

“Give me a second,” he said.  “I normal summon Mono Synchron!”

The little robot appeared with a hum and click.

“When I used this monter for a Synchro summon, all the other materials have their levels become one!” he said.  “I tune Mono Synchron with Wave Wall!”

“Foolish,” Jakob spat again.

“I Synchro Summon Formula Synchron!”

The robot zoomed through the gates, appearing at Yusei’s side.  Stardust hummed with excitement. It knew what was coming, and it stretched its wings out in anticipation, hissing at Granel.

“Dreams crystallize to open a new door of evolution!  Become the path that lights the way! Accel Synchro! Rise, Shooting Star Dragon!!”

The world tightened, and then released like a rubber band.  The Synchro gates opened, and a rush of fizzy air exploded past Yusei’s body as Stardust zipped through.  Instead of becoming stars, the dragon simply warped as it came through the gates, and by the time it appeared on the other side, it was sleeker, shinier, almost glowing with white light.

Shooting Star Dragon let out an excited, rumbling hum.  Stardust had come to the field with zero attack points, but now it was practically thrumming with strength and power, rippling down its platinum white scales.

“I activate Shooting Star’s effect!  I draw five cards from the top of my deck, and for each tuner I draw, it can perform one extra attack!”

This was it, he thought, feeling the hum and tremble of power that ran through his arm from his deck.  This was Shooting Star’s battle excitement coming through to him to finish the game. He drew the first card.  Tuner!

The second card was a tuner.  The third. The fourth. And...the fifth.

“That’s five attacks!” he said, feeling a grin stretch over his face.  “Shooting Star, let’s go!”

Shooting Star spread its wings wide, and then five multicolored afterimages split off from it, pointed and ready to attack. 

Jakob huffed softly.

“Foolish,” he said again.

*    * *

Judai slammed hard into the ground and rolled with it as his wings retreated back under his skin.  He was covered in road burns when he struggled up to his feet, bolting for the stadium. There was a single security guard on the door, and he looked miffed when he rose up a hand to try to stop Judai.  Judai swept his hand to the side and his shadows lightly slid the man across the floor and out of the way, trying to figure out what had happened as Judai burst through and down the hall.

He exploded out into the pit.  His lungs burned and he could hardly see, looking around for someone, anyone.  Was he on the right side of the stadium, even? Where was Team 5Ds located, and how far into the duel were they?

“Judai?”

He nearly cried with relief hearing Aki’s voice, and he whipped around towards it.

Aki was standing up from the control console, eyes wide, one hand on her headset.  Asuka sat at the console beside her, spinning around in her chair at Aki’s words. Carly was the only other one in the pit, but she didn’t even move, her eyes fixed up at the screen and her glasses left unattended on the ground.  Judai whipped his eyes around for the others, but he didn’t see any of the riders. His eyes flickered to the screen and he saw the red blur of Yusei’s D-Wheel.

“Where is everyone?” he said.  “What happened? You’re already down to Yusei?”

“What are you doing here?  Where are Johan and Bruno?” Asuka said.

Judai choked thinking about either of them, and he blinked back tears.

“We were stupid and we fucked up,” he said, scrambling forward.  “I had to get here, I had to know everyone was okay; where are Crow and Jack?”

They should be here, in the pit, right?  Watching Yusei duel? He checked the screen again for the stats.  Both teams were down to their last runners, and holy shit, the other guy had eight thousand life points?  No, wait, it was going down. He looked quickly at the readouts of Yusei’s field. Shooting Star! It was making a third attack right now!

Judai tried to get his breathing back under control.  He had lost Johan, Bruno was going crazy, Crow and Jack were nowhere to be seen, but it looked like Yusei was winning.  Yusei was safe.

Aki finally made her way over to Judai and gripped his shoulders, grabbing his gaze with her own.

“Hey,” she said.  “Breathe. What happened?”

“What happened  _ here _ ?” he said.  “Where’s Jack and Crow?”

“They were injured by Team New World’s last runner,” Asuka said, looking sick.  “Those things are real, not Solid Vision.”

“Fuck,” Judai said.  “So they’re in the medical ward?”

“They’re fine, don’t worry; I left Rose Tentacles to defend them if necessary,” Aki said.  “But I think they’re more interested in Yusei right now, so we don’t have to worry. But what about you?  What happened with you guys, where are—”

A spike of blinding pain went through Judai’s chest like a knife and he screamed.  He thought Aki might have screamed, too, but at the fact that he had suddenly crumpled to his knees in front of her.  He couldn’t see for the tears blurring his vision from the pain.  _ Light _ .  That had been the burning sensation of light stabbing through him.  He looked up through the tears, glaring at the screen for answers.

The crowd had gone deadly silent, and Judai could hear his own pulse raging in his ears.  What was happening? A nervous voice echoed off of the announcer’s microphone.

“Team New World has just— I— fuck.”

The camera feed finally switched over, and Judai saw what everyone was staring at.

All three members of Team New World had suddenly appeared on the field in front of Yusei.  But they weren’t just out there, doing nothing. He nearly threw up watching their human bodies detach and unfold in ways that a human body should not be able to, watched all three of them combine together in ways his eyes couldn’t comprehend.

And when they were finished, there was a new person attached to the D-Wheel, something that was and was not any of the three before.  He was a huge, hulking man with a sharp face and sharper eyes, and Judai felt a sickness wash over him seeing the light pouring out of every bit of him.

The screen crackled and glitched, but it didn’t go out yet.

“The Circuit is complete,” the new man said.  “This duel is is no longer of import.”

Overhead, the sky ripped open.  The spires of another city skyline punched through the blue, turning the whole sky dark.  Judai could see crumbling skyscrapers, burnt out high rises, and someone in the crowd screamed.

Oh fuck.


	44. Canes Venatici

The air crackled with electricity, burning against Yusei’s skin even through his jacket.  He winced and hunched low over the handlebars. At his side, Shooting Star Dragon was thrumming with an anxious fury, and overhead, the blackened, blown out, upside down city loomed down over them through the rip in the sky.

He chanced a glance at the faraway city overhead, shuddering.  It didn’t seem to be moving towards them, yet, but it blacked out the sky, blocking the sun, and it was hard to see from so far away.  All it would take was one thing to shift or fall and that entire city could crush down on top of them, destroying everything.

_ Oh _ , he thought suddenly, his blood running cold.   _ I recognize that building _ .

One of the taller buildings poking down looked very familiar.  It was leaning over a bit, as though it had lost part of its foundation, but it was still far taller than any of the other buildings, hanging much lower towards the ground, and even though it looked as though it had been burned, he could still make out the faded letters of the Public Maintenance Bureau.

“That’s Neo-Domino,” he said, voice shaking.

_ “What??” _ Asuka said back through the headset.

“That city, that’s Neo-Domino, it’s— oh god.  What happened?”

Judai had traveled through time to get here, and he said that he thought he had been through loops that he couldn’t remember.  Was the city over their heads the future Neo-Domino that Judai had fled back through time to escape?

He had to make sure that future couldn’t happen.

Shooting Star screeched in warning, and then the road blew up in front of Yusei.  He screamed. For a moment, his D-Wheel flipped forward through the air and he thought that he would crash headfirst into the ground beneath the dueling lane— but Shooting star hooked its claws into the back of his D-Wheel and yanked him back upwards.  The still roaring wheels touched ground again and he zipped forward. 

His heart hammered in his chest and he felt like he was going to throw up.  He had almost died.

His Duel Disk screen was reading out his and his opponent’s life points, but it appeared to have glitched out otherwise, showing Jakob’s face for one moment, and then glitching out to a pixeled conglomeration of Luciano and Placido.  None of whom seemed to exist as separate individuals anymore, as Yusei raised his eyes back up to the new robotic being ahead of him.

Whoever it was now, they were massive.  He could only see their back, and he wasn’t sure how much was the human shape and how much was the D-Wheel, because there were a bunch of thick cords plugged into their back and down into the D-Wheel, and Yusei felt sick thinking about it.  Even if they were entirely metal, they were still human in shape, and it made his stomach twist.

“Hey!” he shouted, wondering if this new being still had a headset to hear him.  “What the hell? We’re still dueling!”

The massive figure looked back over their shoulder towards him.  Yusei heard a huff in his headset.

“Fudo Yusei, this duel is no longer necessary to our goals,” they said.  “The Circuit is complete. We will return to the Ark Cradle, and— ”

Shooting Star shrieked and swooped forward, body-checking them.  They swerved and nearly spun out, looking vaguely surprised. Shooting Star’s irritation matched Yusei’s.

“You’re not going anywhere!” Yusei said.  “I won’t let you destroy this city!”

Their eyes narrowed.

“Very well,” they said.  “And how will you stop us?”

“Shooting Star!  Stardust Mirage!”

He felt a rush of sparkling energy run down his arms, as though he were absorbing the electricity in the air.  He didn’t even need to reach for his deck to push power into Shooting Star, it just happened as smoothly as breathing.  Shooting Star shrieked with approval as it split off into five multicolored mirages again. All five of them swooped at their opponent one after the other, cutting through them like a semi-solid mist and nearly toppling them off of the dueling lane.

This wasn’t a duel anymore.  This was an actual battle.

As though in response to the thought, Yusei’s opponent swept out one large hand, and the broken pieces of Granel left behind shot to them, coming back together into the shape of the hulking monster.

That was when Yusei heard the first scream rise up from the stands, and he paled.  They were coming back into the stadium.

Yusei’s opponent looked expressionlessly at the stands of people, most of whom were staring up at the floating, upside down city, or looking with horror at Yusei’s new opponent.

“Granel, Grand Slaughter Cannon,” they commanded.

The robot turned towards the stands and aimed cannons into the crowd.  Yusei’s blood went cold.

“Shooting Star!” he screamed.

His dragon flung itself bravely forward as Granel’s cannons began to glow with energy, as the stands bubbled up with panicked mobs trying to push past each other and escape.

The energy struck Shooting Star right across the back, and Yusei _ felt _ it on his own back as his dragon screamed.  It  _ burned _ like fire coursing down his skin and Yusei screamed.  Shooting Star struggled not to slam into the stands, catching itself inches before it crushed down on the escaping people.

And then their motorcycles were free of the stands again, and Granel moved to keep up with its duelist.  Shooting Star limped into the air, wings crooked in the wrong places as it struggled to fly alongside him.  Frothing frustration and anger poured out of its mind and into Yusei, matching his own white hot anger. This guy had been trying to  _ kill _ innocent people in the audience!

“Granel, take his dragon,” the duelist said, waving a dismissive hand.

Granel spun in the air to face the wounded Shooting Star.  Yusei choked as he saw its chest open up, the glowing tendrils shooting out to ensnare Shooting Star.

“Noble Storm!”

“Burning Soul!”

“Black Rose Gale!”

A whirlwind of fire and razor sharp rose petals filled the air, roaring over Yusei’s head and slamming into Granel, forcing it to retreat back.  Yusei whipped his head around behind him.

Three D-Wheels pulled up alongside him— Crow, Jack, and Aki were all on the track.

“You two should be in the hospital!” Yusei swore at Crow and Jack.

Crow sent him a lazy middle finger.

“And let you have all the fun?  No fucking way,” he said.

“I tried to tell them to stay put, but they said no,” Aki said.  “And we really didn’t have time to argue.”

Black Rose Dragon swooped down over Aki, vines cracking like whips all around the group to block any further attacks.

“You’re all fools,” their opponent said.  “Using Synchro monsters against us.”

They raised another hand up, and from either side of the track, shapes rose.  Yusei’s throat closed at the veritable militia of Meklords that appeared, multiples of Skiels and Wisels and even two more giant Granels.  The gigantic robots zipped around the Signers in a tight encirclement.

Almost as one, their chests opened wide, and tentacles snaked out.  Red Nova roared as it was ensnared, and Jack swore.

“Skyscraper Shoot!”

Another explosion of fire and heat surrounded the Signers briefly, and Yusei heard the shriek of metal as the robots tried to get away.  One of them was incinerated in a heartbeat, and the resulting explosion nearly rocked their opponent off of the dueling lane.

A humming vehicle drew up alongside Yusei, and Yusei felt a cool relief pump through him at the sight of Judai, with Flame Wingman coming down to fly alongside him.  

“What are you doing here?” he said.  “What happened at the Public Maintenance Bureau.”

“Shit happened,” Judai said, looking pale.  “But we don’t have time—I’m here to help deal with this asshole and his asshole robots.”

Carly was on the bike behind him, clinging on for dear life with her glasses gone, no helmet, and hair flying every which way.

“We can’t let them get back up there!” she shouted over the wind, as she wasn’t wearing a helmet.  She pointed up to the city. “If they get back up there, they’ll use the energy they’ve collected to destroy the city!”

Yusei’s hands tightened on the handlebars.  Another wave of robots came up against the lane at another swipe of their opponent’s hand, and he tensed.

“We can’t handle all these Meklords,” he said.  “Our Synchros might not last.”

“Leave it to me,” Judai said.  “Neos! Contact Fusion!”

Neos appeared through a small rip in the air.

“Aki!” Judai shouted.

Aki looked up with wide eyes, and then nodded.  Neos swooped over to Black Rose and landed on its back.  The two warped together for a moment, and then Neos reappeared with Black Rose’s great wings sprouting from its back.

“Rose Neos, Wrath of Gale!”

The Meklords that had previously been pressing in on Black Rose were wiped out in a whirlwind of cutting rose petals.  Rose Neos was a Fusion monster, not a Synchro— the Meklords couldn’t touch it.

Jack swore again, and Yusei whipped his head around.  Red Nova was struggling in the grip of three Skiels, screeching and cutting but unable to get free.

“Fortune Lady Dark and Earth, protect Jack!” Carly screamed, and Carly’s robed Fortune Ladies cut through the air, slamming through the tentacles and cutting it free.  Red Nova roared as it pulled free, and spat fire at the nearest clump of Wisels, sending at least two of them into a molten core of bubbling metal that tumbled towards the ground.

Black-Winged Dragon tried to wrap its sinuous body around two Skiels, crushing them together until pieces began to fall off of them, but a Granel rose behind it, snatching its wings in its tendrils.

“Angelic Turn!”

A dazzling light splayed through the arena, cutting through the darkness, and Asuka’s Cyber Angel Benten appeared, flinging its fan at Black-Winged’s attackers and freeing it.  Asuka zipped up on her bike, already setting up another ritual to add another angel to the field.

_ We can do this _ , Yusei thought, throat tight.   _ We can do this.  Together, we can win, and we can stop them, and this can finally end. _

He turned his head towards Judai, to smile at him.

It made him take his eyes away from the fight for just a second too long.

“Yusei, look out!”

Crow slammed his D-Wheel into the side of Yusei’s, making him nearly crash into Judai’s D-Wheel.  Then a laser hit the ground and burned right up into Crow’s tire, and he spun out. Yusei’s speed left him behind in seconds, and all he could hear was the crash.

“Crow!!”

Carly screamed, then, and it was all Yusei could do to slam on the brakes before Red Nova crashed into the ground in front of them.  He managed to duck under its flailing tail, but he heard Jack swear with pain in his headset and then Jack’s mike went dead. He tried to look back and see what had happened, but then Judai was screaming his name, next, and all he heard was a popping sound before the whole sky turned bright white.  He screamed, throwing his hands in front of his face as his D-Wheel spun out— but then he heard Judai scream even louder.

The light faded, and Yusei’s vision snapped back to him.  He heard an awful crunching crash, and threw his eyes backward— Judai’s D-Wheel was on its side, wheels still spinning.  Carly’s Fortune Ladies seemed to have at least partially cushioned his and Carly’s fall, and they disappeared in a poof of sparkles as the two crumpled to the ground.

The robot opponent was already so far away, and— were those  _ rockets _ pushing them up into the air??  Every one of Yusei’s friends were behind him.  He had to stop him but— 

He hit his brakes hard and threw the handlebars, spinning himself around on a dime and zooming back.  He skidded to a stop and leaped from the bike before it had parked, so that it fell to its side, and ran to Judai first.

“Judai!! Judai!”

He hit the ground and skidded on his knee pads, reaching for Judai’s shoulders and pulling him into his arms.  Judai groaned, squinting as though he were having trouble seeing. He blinked a few times.

“You should have gone after him,” Judai said, sounding dizzy.  “You...you don’t have to worry about me.”

“Yes I do!” Yusei said.  “I can’t leave everyone behind and not be sure if they’re going to be okay!!”

Judai inhaled slowly, trying to get his air back, as Yusei gathered him up closer in his arms, feeling everything in him shaking.  It had all happened so quickly. How had it all happened so quickly? He looked up to see what had happened to the combination of Team New World, but all that he could see was a small, glowing speck, as the robotic being had zoomed into the city hanging over head.  He’d...he’d failed to stop them. Yusei squeezed his eyes shut and tried to breathe. No, he couldn’t give up yet; Yliaster needed him and Judai to complete their plans, so they couldn’t destroy the city yet. If they just stayed out of their hands...and found a way to shove their city back into the future where it came from...they still had a chance...

“Holy fuck, are you all okay??”

Yusei almost didn’t hear the shout over the roar of Manjoume’s D-Wheel, which squealed to a stop as he pulled up on the brakes.  Shou was right behind him, Luka clinging to his handlebars while her feet were strapped into her dueling board.

Oh.

Oh fuck no.

Where was Lua?”

Manjoume flung his helmet off and leaped from his bike, hurrying to where Asuka was crumpled on the ground.  Jack was trying to sit up and drag himself over to where Carly was still laying face up on the ground. Crow had already stumbled over to her, and Yusei could hear him mumbling that she was fine, just unconscious.  Aki was the only one still on her feet, Black Rose thrashing its vines over her head and making soft screeches of frustration. She leaned heavily against the petaled form, rubbing her temples.

Luka burst out into tears before Yusei could say anything, leaping from her Duel Board and rushing over to him, throwing her arms around his neck.

“I wasn’t strong enough!” she sobbed into his shoulder.  “S-She took Lua, and I...and I couldn’t stop her!”

“Luka, it wasn’t your fault,” Shou said, coming up behind her.  He looked pale as he looked down at Yusei and Judai. “Judai, I’m sorry, she...I don’t know what she did.”

“Who?” Judai croaked trying to sit up.

“It was Sherry!” Luka cried.  “S-She came back, and told Lua to come with her, and then everything got so bright and cold and I couldn’t move—”

Yusei felt all of the blood drain out of his face.   _ Sherry _ ?  Sherry had taken Lua?  But why? She’d never willingly work with Yliaster!!  They killed her parents! Had she taken Lua for some other reason?

“When we came to, Lua was gone,” Shou said, tense.  “I don’t know what happened or where she took him.”

“Fuck.” Judai croaked.  “Okay, fuck. We have to...we have to...”

He groaned, leaning forward and putting his head between his knees for a moment.  Yusei rubbed his back. That fall had taken a lot out of him.

“We’ll get him back,” Yusei said.  “It’ll be fine, we’ll find him and we’ll get him back.  She couldn’t possibly be working for Yliaster...”

“But it sounds like she was using Light,” Judai said into the ground.  “Where else would she have gotten that kind of power?”

“It doesn’t make any sense,” Shou said.  “Hang on— where are Johan and Bruno?”

Yusei had been thinking of that again, too, and he looked to Judai to ask what had actually happened to them at the Public Maintenance Bureau.

Or he was going to, but then he heard the screen on his Duel Disk start to buzz, and he turned around towards where his bike was on its side.  He was...getting a call? Who was calling him now? Ushio, maybe?

Luka let go of him, and he crawled back over to the bike, groaning as he hefted it back onto its wheels.  He clicked on the screen to answer the call.

Sherry’s cold eyes looked back at him, and Yusei’s breath caught.

“Where is Lua?” he started with.  “Why did you take him?”

“Straight to the point, as always.  It’s why I liked you, Yusei,” Sherry said.

She looked different somehow.  Nothing about her face or hair had changed, but there was something...something shiny about her.  Something glimmering, like she was made out of metal or at least coated with some kind of shiny paint that had wiped away the normal human flaws of the skin and made her look unreal.  It was uncanny valley, almost, and he shivered.

He put his hands on either side of the screen to grip it and leaned in, jaw tight.

“Don’t avoid my question.  Where is he?”

Sherry just stared at him for a moment with her pale green eyes, which seemed too deep and pure colored to be human.  Had something happened to her? Was she brainwashed? Being manipulated?

“He’s above you,” Sherry said.  “In the Ark Cradle.”

Yusei looked up at the city above him.  The Ark Cradle? Was that what it was called?  He looked back down at Sherry. He could feel the warm sensation of Judai coming up next to him, brushing his body against Yusei’s.

“Why is he up there?”

“Because he’s needed.”

“That’s Yliaster!” Yusei said.  “You’re working with Yliaster!! They killed your parents!”

Sherry’s eye twitched— just a bit.  Was she actually being possessed or brainwashed?  He never should have let her run that night, he never should have let her disappear.

“Come to the Ark Cradle if you want him back,” she said.  “That’s all I was supposed to tell you.”

The screen went black before Yusei could even open his mouth.  He stared at the dead screen for a long moment, just seeing his own reflection in the black.  Judai touched his shoulder gently.

“We’ll get him back,” he said softly.

“It’s a trap to lure you and me in,” Yusei said.  “You know it is.”

“Of course it is.  But we don’t have any other choice, do we?”

Judai sounded like he was either going to start laughing with the stress of it all, or crying.  Yusei wasn’t sure which he wanted to do either. He slid his arm around Judai’s waist and pressed his face into his shoulder for a moment, just breathing in his scent.

Having recomposed himself enough, he released Judai and just slid his hand into his, turning back towards the pock marked dueling lane, to the debris where his friends were scattered.

Everyone seemed to be pulling themselves together.  Jack was holding onto Carly, who was just waking up, Crow was leaning against a chunk of debris to catch his breath.  Asuka seemed to be awake, if a little dizzy looking. Aki had dismissed Black Rose Dragon, and was standing more steadily than the others.

“Lua’s been taken up there, to the Ark Cradle,” Yusei said, pointing up.  “I have absolutely no doubt this is a trap, to get me and Judai and finish their plan to destroy the city.”

Everyone looked at him, waiting quietly.  Even Jack didn’t say anything, just listening as he held onto a sleepy looking Carly who flopped her head towards Yusei.

“But I’m not leaving Lua up there,” Yusei said.  “I’m tired of just reacting, and trying to defend ourselves.  This time we’re taking the fight right to them.”

Crow let out a soft, approving whoop, tiredly punching the air.

“We’re going to get there, take Lua back, and finish this,” Yusei said.  “If you’re not in the position to go, I’m not going to force anyone. But—”

“Oh, stuff it with the speech,” Crow said.  “You know we’re all going. Dumbass.”

“Don’t even think of leaving anyone behind,” Jack said.

“We’re going with you to the end of it, Yusei,” said Aki.

“I’m not staying here!” Luka said quickly.  “I’m a Signer!”

Yusei felt the soft warmth of his mark beginning to glow.  The Crimson Dragon’s radiance filled the cold-tinged air, as each Signer’s mark lit up, and a heat haze rose up from each one of them.  Crow lifted his into the air first. Jack, Aki, and Luka followed, and then, smiling in spite of himself, Yusei rose his up towards the sky too.

Somewhere in the back of the warmth, he could feel Lua’s mark, too, glowing off in the distance, asking for them to come to him.

“I don’t have one of those, but I’m in too,” Judai said, raising up his free hand that wasn’t holding onto Yusei.

“You’d better be; who else is going to take care of your boyfriend?” Aki said, completely deadpan.  Yusei almost burst out laughing. His confidence was coming back with the warmth of the Signer marks, their bond, their unity, surrounding him.

“T-then I’m coming too,” Carly said, pushing Jack’s hands away when he tried to make a sound of protest.  “No, Jack, if Judai’s coming to watch his boyfriend from doing something stupid, then I need to come and make sure mine doesn’t do anything stupid.”

The red that burst over Jack’s cheeks almost rivaled the head of the Signer marks, and Yusei almost laughed again.  Carly seemed to still be a little too dizzy to realize what she had just said, and Yusei decided now wasn’t the time to address that.  He did grin at Judai, who crossed his eyes back at him.

“As much as I would love to go charging into the whatever Cradle with you all,” Manjoume said, “We’ve got the problem of that thing maybe coming down to crush us.  I’m going to stay here and get that Ushio guy to help evacuate the city.”

“That’s a good idea,” Yusei said.  “I believe in us, but who knows what will happen down here while we’re fighting.”

“I’ll stay and help,” Asuka said, letting Manjoume help her up.  “I won’t see another city go like it did before.”

Shou nodded.  Judai bit his lip when Yusei looked at him, but his eyes were on Shou and the others.  Then he smiled, tentative, nervous.

“I believe in you guys,” he said.  “Stay safe.”

“Stay safe yourself,” Shou said, smiling back.

Yusei turned to the others.

“All right,” he said.  “We need to get up there.  So...any ideas on how?”

Aki was the one who smiled, then.

“I think I have an idea.”


	45. Cetus

Shooting Star felt warm to the touch beneath Judai’s hands, which sort of surprised him.  He had expected its scales to feel cold.

The ground was already so far away, and he tried not to look down.  He could still remember falling, remember the frantic twisting of his body as he tumbled from the Dueling Lane, and his own dreams of falling forever through the darkness, and he didn’t want to see what could happen if he slipped off the dragon’s back.

As though he had sensed Judai’s nerves, Yusei slid his hand into Judai’s from in front of him, and Judai held on, his other arm slid around Yusei’s waist from behind.  They were just straddling Shooting Star’s neck, and the flight was surprisingly smooth and stable. Just a few feet underneath them, Carly, Jack, and Luka rode Red Nova, and Aki and Crow clung together on top of Black Rose.

The tops of the upside down city came closer, and Judai started to wonder about how they were going to navigate it.  Everything was upside down, right? Would they have to fly around the spires like stalactites on a cave ceiling? Or would their gravity shift when they reached it, and they’d turn upside down?

It turned out to be neither of those options.  As they drew closer, an unfamiliar addition to the Neo Domino skyline lit up, drawing all of their attention.  It was a large, thick pillar, the only building that still stood straight rather than leaning or broken to bits from some unknown explosion.  The light flooded down its sides, irritating Judai slightly with the Light energy within it, and gathered at the bottom— or rather, the top, but the building was upside down.  Like the bottom of a UFO, a space spiraled open. They were expected, Judai thought. Great.

It wasn’t quite central to the city, but rather somewhere off to the side. Judai felt Yusei tense underneath his grip.

“What?” he called over the wind.

“That’s right above where old Momentum is,” Yusei called back.  “If this city is a mirror of ours...that must be where Satellite is for them, and their own old Momentum.”

Great.  That sounded like an excellent place to go straight to, especially after they knew what Yliaster wanted to do with Momentum.

They headed there anyway.  There was nothing else they could do.  Yusei tapped Shooting Star and it dipped, turning slightly towards the opening.

It was a large opening, but not quite big enough to let in an entire dragon, so Shooting Star poked its head and neck through, letting its own internal hovering capabilities keep it airborne.  Judai blinked at the change in light— it was surprisingly dark in here.

They were in some strange, large atrium, with a high ceiling he couldn’t make out in the dark.  The ground was, of course, gone, but there were three thin spires of a pathway that sprouted off towards the walls, leaving a large space in the middle between them.

Yusei carefully edged himself off of Shooting Star’s back and onto one of the pathways, testing it gingerly.  It held, but Judai didn’t let go of his hand. Once it seemed sturdy, Yusei gripped Judai tightly back and helped him step off onto the path with him.  They were very, very thin paths, and there were no railings. It was just big enough to fit him and Yusei walking side by side, and he didn’t like the idea of falling from this height.

Yusei dismissed Shooting Star and it vanished in a sparkly glitter of light.  Red Nova was larger than Shooting Star, and it took it a moment to fit its head through with Jack, Luka, and Carly clinging to its horns.  There wasn’t enough space at the end of the path for the two to join Yusei and Judai, so after a brief look towards them, Jack guided Red Nova to one of the other two paths.  Carly stepped off first with Jack’s help, and then turned around to grab hold of Luka’s arms, helping her up. Jack used Red Nova’s horns to brace himself as he stepped up along with them, the three of them looking a bit dangerously crowded. Once Red Nova vanished, Black Rose was able to fit itself in, much more easily than the other two, larger dragons.  It put its wing up to the edge of the last unoccupied path, and Aki and Crow clambered up along the petals to reach it. Black Rose vanished, and then, all of them were in.

After a beat, the floor beneath them closed up again, though it was still a long drop from these paths down to where they had come in.  When it closed, they were left in the dark for a half second, and then lights glowed along the edges of the paths, setting them all alight in a faint, eerie glow from beneath them.

“Well?” Yusei called across to the others.  “What do you think? Which way should we go?”

Carly took off her glasses and tucked them into the collar of her shirt, and then slowly turned around, looking at each door in turn.  She frowned when she turned back to the middle.

“I can’t see any signs,” she said.  “They all look pretty much the same to me...everything has Light energy.”

Judai was noticing that too.  It burned against his skin like an irritating rash, like the air was full of static electricity, and he hated it.

“Can anyone sense Lua?” Yusei asked.

The Signers all took a look at their marks, and Judai inhaled, letting Yubel’s eyes slide into place and reaching out for some sense of the boy as well.  Nothing. Everything was just the same, irritating buzzing light that surrounded him like a blackout curtain.

“It feels like he’s coming from all of the doors,” Jack said, sounding irritated. “Maybe they all go into the same hallway.”

Judai doubted it, but the way things were going...it looked like whoever brought them here wanted them to split up.

“You know, splitting up is always a bad idea in the horror movies,” Judai said. 

“You said that last time,” Yusei said.

“And I was completely right.”

Yusei grimaced.  Judai still hadn’t had a chance to tell him about Bruno and Johan...oh god.  Was Johan here, maybe?

“We can’t get across to each other easily,” Crow said.

“I can summon Neos and he can ferry us across.”

“We’d be wasting time checking each door as a group,” Jack said sourly. 

He was right— Judai had no idea how much time they had.  He swallowed, and looked at Yusei. Yusei was already looking back at him.  He  _ looked _ calm, but Judai could see that little twitch in his eye, and the faint tremble in his hands.  He didn’t want to split up either.

“Judai,” Aki said softly.  “Yusei. We can all take care of ourselves.  We need to find Lua, quickly.”

Yusei licked his lips.  He looked so nervous, and the eerie lighting lit his face in a way that made him look hollow in the cheeks.

“You’re right,” he said finally.  “Just be careful, all of you.”

Judai tapped his Duel Disk.

“Who knows about the signal up here, but keep in touch if you can,” he said.

“Yessir,” Crow said, giving a jovial salute.  Judai cracked a smile in spite of himself.

Yusei reached for his hand, and Judai grabbed it back.

“All right,” he said.  “Let’s go.”

* * *

Aki kept her Duel Disk up like a weapon as she carefully looked around the corner.

This didn’t really feel like an upside down building, she thought, looking up at the ceiling.  They were in an upside down city with a building hanging in the air...she felt like she should be thinking she was walking on the ceiling.  But the doors were ordinary, meeting the floor where she stood, and there were dim lights on the ceiling above her. Had this building been made specifically for when the two cities folded over the top of each other?  She shivered.

“You okay?” Crow asked.

“Fine,” she said.  “This place is just...eerie.”

Crow grimaced in understanding.  

The hallway continued on around the corner to the left, and as there was no sign of anyone there, Aki shrugged and nodded for them to continue.  There were a few doors here and there on either side of the wall, but none of them opened when they tugged on them.

“Do you feel Lua?” Aki asked.

“A little,” Crow said.  He shook his arm out, as though to knock his Signer radar back into order.  “It kind of feels like it’s coming from all around us, you know?”

She did know.  There was an awful buzzing sensation against her skin, a warmth that had no clear direction.  She couldn’t tell if she was sensing Lua, or if she was feeling the energy of this place itself.  She wished she could summon one of her monsters for emotional support, but she didn’t want to waste the energy.

“Do you really think Sherry took Lua?” Crow asked suddenly, and Aki looked at him with surprise.

“Do you think Luka and Shou and the others didn’t know what they saw?” she said.

“That’s not it.  I mean, what if she was a fake?  Or brainwashed? I dunno. I’m just worried, I guess...that girl was really a wild card at the beginning, but I can’t imagine her changing sides to join Yliaster.”

Aki agreed silently, but she didn’t know what else to think.  She didn’t know Sherry all that well. They had dueled alongside each other a few times in fights against Yliaster, but she had never sat down and actually talked to the woman.  For all she knew, Sherry could have been an Yliaster plant from the beginning.

Still, Crow’s question made her feel a little more nervous than before, and she kept out a sharper eye around the long, endless hallway.

The hallway turned off to the right this time, and she started to peek around.

An awful, stinging pain snapped across her arm, and she gasped.  She heard Crow swear and grip at his arm at the same time she did, and the pain fluttered briefly against her forehead, like a clear bell striking against her brain.  She felt her heart clench up unnaturally for a moment like it was about to stop. 

Then it subsided back to the ordinary buzz, and Aki tried to snap herself back.  She was dizzy and the room felt blurred and unsteady for a moment.

“Did you feel that?” she hissed.

“Yeah,” Crow said, looking white beneath his markers. “That was...that felt like Yusei.”

Aki’s blood quickened.  Yusei couldn’t be in trouble already could he?  No, he was with Judai, Judai would take care of him, she had to trust they could take care of themselves...but that feeling...that painful, tear-inducing feeling, like her heart was going to rip apart...like she’d just been overwhelmed by sadness...

A brighter heat flared beneath the haze of warmth, and Aki inhaled.  Lua! That was Lua, now! She could finally pick his signature out!

“He’s nearby,” she said.  “You feel that, right? He’s nearby.”

“I did,” Crow said.  “No more wasting time!”

He pushed past her to tear down the hall around the corner.  Aki wanted to swear at him, but she was chafing at the pace too, so she just took off.

This hallway was much shorter than the other two, and they quickly came up against a set of doors at the end.  Crow threw his shoulder against it, but it didn’t budge.

“Dammit!  He’s so close!” he swore.

“Oh my god, press the button,” Aki said, reaching around him to push a panel beside the door.

The doors slid open, and Crow flushed, but didn’t look at her.  Aki didn’t have the time or energy to tease him. She just slipped through the doors.

Immediately, they were engulfed in light, and for a moment, Aki couldn’t see.  She threw her arms up in front of her, Duel Disk ready, her power sparking in her chest and ready to fight.

Her vision adjusted, then, and she realized she wasn’t being attacked...the room was just brighter than the hallway they had left.  A huge, warehouse-like room spread out in front of them, stretching large enough to contain her entire house. The ceiling was alight with pulsing hanging lights, and the room itself was full of what looked like giant test tubes, full of glowing water that had something floating inside it.  Aki felt sick for a moment before she recognized the wires, and realized that they were mechanical.

“What the hell sci-fi movie did we just walk into?” Crow swore.

Aki scanned the room— the giant test tubes and the glaring light made visibility more difficult, and she didn’t like it.  It looked like there was a clear shot across the room to another set of doors on the other side, and she could sense Lua’s warmth through it.  Still, it looked too easy. She raised one arm and prepared to summon a monster.

Heels clicked across the floor, echoing through the huge empty room.  Aki’s eyes darted across to the other side of the room, to the doors, and a moment later, a person came into view, blocking their path.

In the glare, it was briefly difficult to see, but Aki adjusted quickly.  

“Sherry-san,” she said.

Sherry glared across at them from the distance.  Crow swore softly.

“Fuck,” he said.  “It really is you, isn’t it?”

“I can’t let you go any further,” Sherry said, without acknowledging him.

Aki stepped forward, drawing Sherry’s eyes.  The woman watched her for a moment, and Aki watched back.  She seemed lucid. She didn’t look brainwashed.

“I thought you hated Yliaster,” Aki said.

Sherry’s lips curled.

“I do,” she snapped.  “But I don’t have to explain myself to you.  You wouldn’t understand.”

There was a burning, buzzing pain beneath her voice, something that cracked.  Aki recognized it— it sounded like her own voice, once upon a time. Sherry was hurt.  Aki put a hand over her heart, biting her lip— Sherry’s parents were dead. She’d spent her entire life trying to get revenge for them.  Of course she was hurting.

“Let me try,” Aki said.  “Sherry-san. Let me try.”

She stepped forward again, closer.

“I don’t know why you’re doing this,” she said.  “But let us help you. At least talk to us about what you’re doing.”

Sherry only glared at her.  She lifted up her Duel Disk.

“Z-ONE needs the two of you alive,” she said.  “So don’t make this more difficult than it has to be.”

Aki wasn’t going to get through to her.  She grit her teeth. Fine then.

Aki felt her power in the base of her chest bubbling, flowing through her like blood.  Her arm heated with the warmth of her mark. The warmth blossomed around her feet and a haze began to rise up from the floor, energy pouring through her from the ground and through her legs up to her chest.  Crow swore with surprise when she reached over and unclipped her Duel Disk, letting it fall to the ground.

“Fine,” Aki said.  “Then we’ll just have to go through you.”

The heat of the dragon’s talons grounded her to the floor, grounded her to the energy coursing through this place and drew it through her, filtering and refining it, and she called on her dragon.

Black Rose didn’t quite fit in here despite the size of the place— or maybe Aki’s power was increasing her size.  Rose petals began to whizz through the air in a violent whirlwind. Black Rose screeched, and Aki felt it in her own throat, felt the connection lock between them, and for a moment, she wasn’t sure where she ended and Black Rose began.

Sherry wasn’t a psychic duelist.  Aki had no time for games. The ground began to bubble and warp and her vines exploded through the ground, flailing like a kraken’s tentacles.  Aki would push through Sherry’s defenses with everything she had if she had to— Lua was on the other side of that door, and he needed her. He needed them— he needed his friends to come to his aid.  And she would not abandon him.

But Sherry didn’t even flinch.  She stood her ground, face hardening, feet planting.  She raised her Duel Disk in front of her. Was she stupid?  Aki wouldn’t kill her, but she had no doubt she was capable of it.

Metal sang through the air, and Aki felt one of her vines sliced through.  She flinched even though there was no pain, drawing back in spite of herself. 

Sherry’s Duel Disk had turned into a long metal lance clamped along her arm.  There was a shining, pulsing light spreading from her feet in the shape of circuits, and it was spreading across the floor.  Crow swore and Aki jumped as the design grew and twisted along the floor beneath their feet, but nothing immediately happened.

Light poured out all around them, and Aki swore.  This was— but Sherry wasn’t a psychic duelist!!

“You’re not the only one with parlor tricks,” Sherry said.

* * *

Everything here was so bright.  Well, not really, this hallway was actually pretty dark, but when she took her glasses off, it was almost blinding with how much light there was.

Carly pushed her glasses back onto her face again.  She wanted to keep them off, so she could try and track threads and find Lua, but there was nothing except light, and it was hard to see where she was going.  Even if Jack was holding her hand and guiding her.

She had hold of Luka’s hand with the other hand, and she wasn’t sure who was trying to comfort who here.  Luka  _ looked _ determined, her face screwed up with determination as she kept up with Carly and Jack, but there was a tremble in her hand and arm that Carly could feel through their grip.

“Do either of you sense Lua?” Carly asked.

Jack frowned, looking down at his arm.  His mark was glowing nonstop here, it seemed.

“No,” he said.  “It still feels like there’s Signer energy all around us.  I can’t pick out any one energy.”

“It’s the same for me,” Luka said, biting her lip.  “How is that possible?”

Carly wished she could have an answer, but it was the same for her vision; everything looked like one big block of white with maybe a few twisted in hints of red.  It was like this place was made of light  _ and _ Signer energy.

“Well, maybe if we—” she started.

Both Jack and Luka flinched at the same time, letting go of her with the brief convulsion.  Jack grabbed his arm, and Luka curled hers against her chest, almost doubling over.

“W-what happened?” Carly said, grabbing Luka’s shoulders to steady her.  “Are you okay? What happened?”

“Y-Yusei,” Jack hissed.  “That was Yusei. Something just happened to Yusei.”

“What??  What could have happened to him?” Carly said. 

She fumbled for her glasses with one hand, pulling them off.  The light aura seared her eyes, but she forced herself to look at Jack and Luka’s marks, to try and get a glimpse of the threads that connected them to the other Signers.  None of them looked wrong, she wasn’t getting any sense of anything that was wrong, so— 

Wait.

Carly stopped.  She stared at the threads for a moment.  One, two, three, four, five...with Lua there should be six Signers, which meant Jack and Luka should each have five threads connecting them to the others.  She counted again.

Why were there six threads?

Carly didn’t have time to try and process what that could mean before Luka stood bolt upright.

“Lua!” she squeaked.  “I can sense Lua!!”

She tried to bolt forward, but Jack grabbed her hand.

“Not by yourself,” he said.  “We go together.”

Luka looked like she was going to burst, but she didn’t squirm out of Jack’s grip.  Jack grabbed Carly’s hand with his other free hand, and then they were off down the hall.  Carly flapped a bit in Jack’s grip, trying to keep up while her head spun. Six threads? There were seven Signers?  Who was the seventh? What was going on? 

They took another turn and found themselves coming through a set of doors.  They were hanging open on their hinges, one of them bent and twisted in place, and Carly shivered.  It looked like something big had simply crashed through the doors— what was inside there?

The room opened up before them, brightly lit in comparison to the hallway they had left.  Carly yelped and clapped her hands over her eyes— it was overwhelmingly bright in here!! The spots of red were so bright among the white that it was blinding her!

“Lua!!”

Luka tried to bolt forward again, but Jack grabbed her under the arms and scooped her back.

“Careful,” he hissed.  “This looks too easy.”

Luka squirmed in Jack’s grip, and finally, Carly had a chance to process. She fumbled her glasses back onto her eyes so that she could see.

In the center of the room was a gigantic silver table— no, a circuit board. There was circuitry lining the disk, engraved into it and glimmering with electricity that flooded through it.  In the center of the disk was a huge glass pillar, like a test tube.

And floating in the middle of it as though it were filled with some kind of liquid was Lua.

That was when Carly heard the soft gasping sounds.

For a moment, she thought it was Lua.  But no, Lua looked like he was sleeping, peaceful and quiet.  The gasping was coming from...

At the edge of the disk, off to the left, there was a huge, hunched figure.  Carly’s stomach turned, and she pressed backwards against Jack. Jack noticed the motion and looked up, eyes narrowing.  He shoved Carly behind him with one arm.

“Hey!” he shouted.  “Release Lua right now!”

The figure stiffened up.  Carly couldn’t tell anything about it with her glasses on.  But then it moved. It slowly rose upwards, revealing itself to be massive, with huge, hulking shoulders and— oh god, it was them.  It was the combination of Team New World, the giant robotic figure that had barely taken a hit off of them before with their army of Meklords.

And....and they looked hurt.

They turned to face the three of them with what seemed to be considerable effort.  When they had turned all the way around, Carly could see cracks in their face, sparks of electricity flaring up from the spaces.  One arm was sagging limply at their side, and one leg appeared to be broken. Their whole body sagged. But...but they hadn’t been able to do any damage to them during that fight, had they?  Why did they look broken up?

“Who...are you?” Carly whispered, but her voice echoed through the room.

They looked at her.  Their deep red eyes looked exhausted, and younger than the rest of them.  Their voice crackled when they spoke.

“I am Aporia,” they said.

“Bastard,” Jack swore.  “Let Lua out of there right now!”

“That I cannot do,” they said.

“Let him go!!” Luka cried.  “Let him go right now!”

Aporia actually looked troubled.  They tried to step forward and their leg went out from underneath them.  Carly jumped.

Jack let Luka down.

“They won’t be able to stop us,” he said.  “Let’s get up there and get Lua down.”

“I can’t allow that,” Aporia said.

“Try and stop us,” Jack snapped.

Luka hurried forward towards the giant disk, hesitating as she looked around for a way to get up to Lua.  Jack followed her.

Carly, however, hesitated.  She stared at Aporia, the broken up, strangely proportioned android that seemed to be trying ever so hard to stand up.  What was wrong with them? Their fight hadn’t taken that much out of them, had it? An ominous feeling came over her, and she opened her mouth to say something to Jack and Luka, to tell them to be careful.

Aporia completely crumbled.  Carly jumped and yelped as the entire robot just collapsed and seemed to crumble in on itself.  What on— 

The room flashed once.  Jack and Luka hesitated in the middle of trying to heave Luka on top of the disk.  Carly felt an awful pressure fill the room.

Along the walls, screens turned on all at once, sending out readouts, lines of code and binary, making squeaking and screeching sounds.  The room rumbled. Carly almost screamed.

Then the test tube holding Lua slid open.  Lua came slowly, slowly, slowly floating down towards the ground, landing in the middle of the disk where his tube had been a minute before.  Luka squeaked. She tried to scramble up on top of the disk, but Jack grabbed for her shirt to hold her back.

For a moment, Lua simply stood there, eyes closed, as though he were sleeping standing up.

Then his eyes opened.

They were the exact same shade of deep blood red as Aporia’s.

“I’m sorry,” Lua said in Aporia’s voice, raising up an arm where a Duel Disk appeared.  “But I cannot allow you to have him back,”

* * *

Yusei gripped Judai’s hand as they made their way down the hallway. 

It was thin and tight, just big enough for them to walk single file, like they were in a slightly taller air vent or something.  It didn’t seem like the kind of place you were supposed to travel.

“You doing all right?” he called back over his shoulder.

Judai squeezed his hand.

“Just peachy,” he said, his voice light in that way he did when he was trying to joke himself out of nerves.

Yusei squeezed his hand back.  If they had had the time, he would have stopped to turn around and kiss or hug Judai, anything to try and get the tremble out of his hands.  But it wouldn’t have been enough. Hopefully they could finish this goddamn adventure as soon as possible, get the world saving squared away, and Judai and everyone could finally breathe.

“Do you sense anything?” he asked.

“No.  There’s too much light, it’s just...it’s irritating.  I can’t pick out anything else.”

Yusei nodded.  He didn’t sense the same things that Judai did, but he could sense the Signers, and it felt like they were coming from all around him all at once, like he was walking through a mist of it.  He couldn’t pick out the actual location of Lua or really any of his friends. He hoped they were going to be okay.

The hall twisted to the left, and Yusei peeked around before moving forward.

“Judai, I meant to ask,” Yusei started as they continued forward.  “What happened during your mission? With Bruno and Johan?”

Judai’s grip tensed.  For a second, he didn’t answer.

“I don’t really know what happened,” Judai said.  “We found something weird in the director’s office: a spacetime rip of some kind.  And...Bruno went crazy when he saw it.”

Yusei’s lips parted, looking over his shoulder at Judai.  Judai looked pale, and wouldn’t quite meet Yusei’s eyes.

“What do you mean?”

“I mean he...he turned on us, Yusei.  He grabbed hold of me and tried to drag me inside the rip, and it was so full of Light that I could barely breathe.  Johan used a spell to swap our places, so Johan’s...wherever Bruno was trying to take me.”

Bruno?  Would Bruno actually do that?  But...he was...

“Was he brainwashed?” Yusei said.  “Did the Light do something to him?”

“I...I really don’t know,” Judai said, but Yusei could tell from his eyes.  Judai didn’t trust Bruno.

Yusei’s stomach twisted.  He believed Judai, of course, but...but  _ Bruno? _  Bruno wouldn’t turn on them, not unless the enemy had done something to him.

_ How much do you really know about Bruno?  _ Yusei’s subconscious nagged at him.

And then— pain.  Pain shot down through his arm and up into his head for a second, he blacked out.  When he came to, he was stumbling forward, Judai grabbing hold of him, and he was dizzy and his head buzzed and his mouth was full of cotton.

“Yusei?  Yusei, what happened?”

“I— I don’t know,” Yusei coughed.  “I felt like...like one of the Signers was hurt or in trouble but I— I couldn’t tell who—”

His brain was sending him so many strange, mixed signals, twinges of pain and a sickness in his stomach as though he had just been crying for hours.  His muscles twitched with ghost pains that he wasn’t sure if he was imagining or not, and his head spun. He felt, for just a second, like he was disassociating.  He didn’t know where he was, or where he was looking from, like the world was a misty dream.

He came back to himself after another breath, Judai gripping hold of him tightly against him.  He was trembling so badly, and Yusei weakly raised his hands to touch on top of Judai’s holding on to him to reassure him that he was okay.

A faint tug at his mark caught his attention then: Lua.  He could sense Lua perfectly clearly, now.

“I can feel him,” Yusei said.  “Lua— he’s somewhere...that way.”

He pointed through the wall.  Judai looked in that direction, squinting.  He shook his head.

“It’s no good, I still can’t sense a damn thing except light,” he said through grit teeth.  “Do you think we’ll find him if we follow this hallway?”

“I think so...we don’t have many other options.”

Judai squeezed his shoulders.

“Are you all right to keep moving?”

“We don’t have a choice,” Yusei said.  “And I’m fine, I promise.”

He actually was, he found as he stood up, surprised.  He felt completely clear-headed, as though the sudden burst of pain and uncertainty had been a dream.

Judai refused to let go of his hand as they made their way forwards again, and Yusei didn’t mind.  It was steadying, feeling Judai’s hand in his.

The hallway twisted to the right this time, and then they were face to face with a door.  Yusei tested the handle, and then pushed on it. It swung forwards easily, and Yusei peered through.

It looked like a small laboratory, he thought.  There were consoles of buttons and screens all along one side of the wall, and another wall of cabinets with glass fronts, showing jars and vials with labels he couldn’t read inside.

He stepped through, and Judai was finally able to stand next to him now that they were free of the tight hallway.  The lights were so dim in here, only the faintly glowing screens gave any light. Yusei squinted. Well, maybe this room was bigger than he had thought.  It was deeper, at least, and he peered into the shadows on the other side of the room.

“It’s so bright, I can’t see,” Judai complained, and Yusei looked at him with surprise.  It was  _ dark _ in here...was he talking about the Light?  Was there more Light in this room?

And then Yusei heard a faint gasping sound, and his eyes trained in on the shadows.  There was...something in the center of the room, he thought, past the wall of consoles and readouts, somewhere in the darker half.  He stepped forward, squinting at the dark, shadowy shape. Were there lights in this room? He looked for something that might be a light switch.  There— right next to the door.

He reached for the switch, hoping it was lights and not something else.  He pushed the button, tensing in anticipating of something going wrong.

But no, the lights just turned on, revealing to Yusei just how deep the room actually was— and revealing the shadowy shape in the center.

“Johan!”

“What?  Johan’s here??” Judai said, squinting.

The shape was some kind of strange, pod like machine, and Johan was strapped inside it.  He looked like he was flushed, as though he’d been running for a long time, his eyes screwed shut.  His arms and legs were completely immobile, tied down to the machine in an awkward position, his head strapped down as well.

_ Johan cast a spell to swap his and Judai’s places _ , Yusei remembered Judai saying just a moment ago.  His blood ran cold. That machine was where Judai was supposed to be.

He pulled on Judai’s hand and brought him through the room to where Johan was.  As they got closer, Judai stopped squinting, as though it were suddenly easy to see again.  

“Oh god,” he swore, sounding sick.

He released Yusei’s hand and rushed over to Johan, examining the machine.  He bit his lip and tugged on some of the strap, and then swore and jumped back as though he’d been burned.

“What’s wrong?”

“Light energy,” Judai said.  “It’s all Light. I can’t touch it.”

“Let me,” Yusei said, reaching over him.  “Is it safe to let him out?”

“I have no idea, but we can’t leave him like this.”

Judai directed Yusei to the straps around Johan’s legs first, and Yusei easily unlocked them.  Carefully, they extracted Johan from the machine one strap at a time, and finally, the man was sliding free as Judai tried to hoist him under the arms.  Both of them slid down to the floor with Judai supporting him. He still wasn’t conscious.

“Is he all right?”

“He’s imbalanced, but alive,” Judai said, touching his forehead.  “That machine was probably supposed to hold me, which means it’s pumped with enough light to immobilize me.  For Johan, he’s got a more even balance of light and shadow in his soul, so it just...made him sick.”

He looked so pale, and Yusei squeezed his shoulder.  They couldn’t leave Johan here, but it would be trouble to try and pull him along like this.  They’d have to see if there was something they could do to wake him up.

Yusei looked around the room for something that might make it easier to carry him; maybe a stretcher or a wheelchair or something.  It was a lab, right?

His eyes glanced past a door on the other side of the lab, about twenty feet away.  It was open, he realized suddenly. Was it open before?

Something moved.  He tensed. He opened his mouth to warn Judai.

For just the briefest of glimpses, Yusei saw Bruno in the doorway, staring at him.  And then he was gone again. Yusei’s heart jumped.

“Bruno??” he called.

Judai’s head snapped up, looking tense.

“Where?”

“I thought I just saw him, in that doorway.”

Yusei took a few steps towards the door around the machine.  He squinted into the shadows of the hallway beyond.

“Yusei, be careful—” Judai started.

An awful metallic screech caught Yusei’s attention.  His head jerked upwards. Oh, fuck, the ceiling was coming towards him—

He flung himself forward instinctively, hitting the ground and skidding against the metal.  He heard Judai scream, and then there was a loud crash that ricocheted off the walls and made Yusei’s head spin.

The echo rang around him for a few moments, and he just sat there, trying to understand what had happened.  It took him a few moments to feel sturdy enough to sit up, coughing. The whole world felt like it was shaking, still.

“Yusei!” he heard Judai’s voice, but it was muffled and distant.  “Yusei!! Yusei, are you all right??”

“Judai?” he called back.  “Judai, what happened?”

He turned around, and his stomach dropped out.  There was a giant wall in the middle of the lab, cutting it in half— and cutting him off from Judai.

He pushed against the wall.  He threw his shoulder against it.  It was thick and sturdy and wouldn’t give.  He banged his fist on it once to make sure Judai could hear him.

“Judai!  Are you all right in there?”

“I’m— I’m okay!  Are you all right?”

“I’m fine!  I don’t think we’re going to get this wall out of the way, though.  I’ll try and find some kind of control switch or something, you look on your side, too!”

“Got it,” Judai said.

Yusei turned back around with his heart in this throat, feeling shaky.

Bruno, or someone that he thought might be Bruno, was standing in the room, just five feet away from him.  Oh, Yusei realized. He recognized him. He was the visored Duelist who had told him to find a technique beyond speed, the one who had encouraged him to find Accel Synchro.  And he was Bruno, too, now that he was close enough to see his eyes, Yusei could tell.

“Bruno,” he said, his voice cracking. “Are you...you didn’t actually....did you?”

Bruno just looked at him with level eyes, and Yusei couldn’t read them.  Was he sad? Was he angry? Yusei couldn’t tell.

“Bruno,” he said again, begging.  “Judai’s trapped on the other side with Johan.  I need to get them out.”

Bruno’s eyes finally closed, and he sighed.

“I’m sorry, Yusei,” he said.  “But Bruno was never my name.”

He lifted his arm, and his Duel Disk activated.

“And I can’t let you and Judai reunite, either.”


	46. Lyra

“Yusei?  Yusei, what’s going on over there?”

Judai banged his fist against the giant metal wall, but it didn’t budge.  He growled, and let Yubel take over a bit, scales rippling down his arms. He slammed into the wall, intending to rend it apart if he had too— but it was just a little too strong, a little too slick for him to get his claws into it.  There was no way he was going to get through this. Yusei was alone on the other side of the wall and Judai couldn’t get to him.

“Yusei!” he shouted again, but Yusei wasn’t responding anymore.  “Yusei!!”

Panic fluttered through his chest and he felt like he was going to throw up.  He was so stupid! He should have been prepared for something like this, he should have moved faster to get to Yusei, he should have grabbed hold of him and not let him walk so far away— 

“Judai.”

For a second, Judai thought it was Yusei, somehow behind him again, and he whipped around.  But no, the hoarse, croaking voice belonged to Johan. He was awake— trying to drag himself up onto his hands, coughing and shaking.

“Johan!!”

Judai dropped to his knees and tried to prop Johan up.  Johan smacked at his hands, though, his eyes so white that they were mostly white.

“Judai, run, you have to get away, you have to go—”

What?  There was nowhere Judai  _ could _ go, and besides, what was he supposed to— 

Judai looked up.  His heart froze up like a block of ice in his chest.

Creeping across the floor was a haze of white, like a shadow growing over the floor, but light instead.  It was coating the entire room, moving slowly across the floor towards Judai, and Judai swore. Johan pushed at him.  Judai jumped to his feet and scrambled backwards. The light hit Johan’s feet and nothing happened, but Judai didn’t trust it.  He pushed himself back against the wall behind him— he was trapped, he realized. Maybe it wasn’t Yusei they had been trying to trap— maybe it was him.

He swore, trying to break through the wall once again, but then the light was creeping along his feet and he felt a frozen tingly feeling claim his limbs as though they had fallen asleep.  It felt like the floor was going out from underneath him, then, like he was sinking into some thick, gloppy substance, and he swore again. The light continued to pour up his body and the tingle followed it, sinking further and further into the light until he was no longer anywhere at all.

* * *

Crow swore, tripping over his own feet and tumbling down to the ground.  He just barely got out of the way in time, pulling himself behind another one of the tubes before three more shattered.  The glass sparkled like deadly knives as it was flung up into the air with the rest of the wind that screeched through the room.

Black Rose Dragon shrieked, making him wince.  He heard the clash of Sherry’s Chevalier de Fleur striking at Black Rose’s claws with its lance.  What fucking gives....Sherry was a psychic duelist now too?

The room was so heavy with an oppressive sense of pressure, and it was hard to move his arms or legs too much.  Still, he had to try and get out of the way of this massive fight.

He could still see Aki, her arms crossed protectively in front of her.  Her hair was loose and wild around her face, like it once had been when she had gone full Rose Witch on people— but her eyes were clear.  There was no wild rage in her eyes, only a determined, honed glint of fury. Crow felt like he had gotten himself into more than he could handle.

He peered around the tube he’d taken temporary shelter behind.  Sherry still had her lance and was using it to cut away at Aki’s vines that burst through the floor to try and knock her off her feet.  Several more knight monsters rose up behind Sherry to join in defending her, and then to push their advantage. In response, Aki jerked her hands like a commander directing an army, and three more rose monsters crawled out of the floor to meet them.  Crow winced and ducked again before a flurry of sharp rose petals hit him.

“Sherry!” Aki screamed.  “Sherry, that’s enough!”

“That’s enough out of  _ you _ !” Sherry shouted back.  “Just give up! Give up quietly, and I won’t have to hurt you!”

“Why are you  _ doing _ this?” Aki shouted, but Sherry did not answer, she just bore down harder on her attack.

There had to be something he could do to help Aki.  Not that she really seemed to need the help, but she and Sherry were pretty evenly matched at the moment.  There had to be something he could do to tip the scales.

He lifted his duel disk, but then frowned.  He wasn’t even sure if Solid Vision could match up to these real life monsters.  This was no game anymore, all of his time honored strategies would be of no use— _ he’d _ be of no use.

Crow grit his teeth.  But he couldn’t just let Aki fight all by herself!

He looked around the tube again.  Sherry was pretty damn focused on Aki...she wasn’t even looking around for him at all.  Maybe...he could use that to his advantage.

Keeping his head low, Crow rolled to his feet and ran at a crouch to the opposite wall.  A few rose petals and shards of glass cut into his arms and face, but he ignore the faint cuts.  He reached the opposite wall, and he couldn’t see Sherry or Aki through the maze of tubes— perfect cover.  He followed the wall up to the last aisle of tubes, and then made his way back down towards the center. The screech of metal and boots skidding across the ground grew louder, and he ducked behind another tube.  He peered out. There she was— Sherry had her eyes fixed on Aki, only moving to look at the vines that drew too close to cut them down. Her face was red, hair flying around her and into her eyes, and she screamed once with frustration.  She wasn’t paying Crow any attention at all.

Crow wasn’t really one to feel fear.  There was usually no time for it before he did the stupid thing that he was supposed to be afraid of.  So he didn’t let himself wait or think about it. He just did it.

He flung himself out from behind the tube and steam rolled towards Sherry.  Her eyes flickered towards him and widened, but too late. He crashed into her shoulder first, sending them both tumbling to the ground.  For a moment, he couldn’t tell what was happening— it was a roar of petals and glass and wind and her hands were slamming against his head and he was doing his goddamn best to just use his weight to push her into the ground, hoping that the distraction would be enough for Aki to push through— 

Warmth blossomed over his stomach and he gasped.

“Fuck,” Sherry swore beneath him, and Crow tried to breathe but choked.  He couldn’t— he couldn’t get off of Sherry. He was stuck on something. He put his hand over the warm spot and it was wet.  Why was it wet?

Oh, he realized, as he came to enough to see Sherry’s spear plunged through his stomach.  That was...that was bad.

* * *

Jack flung Luka back behind him as the lightning coursed across the Circuit, jumping and leaping and striking him directly in chest.  His brain whited out for a moment and he could smell something burning. When he came to, Carly was screaming, and he was on the floor, staring at the ceiling.

The red-eyed Lua looked down at them passively.  Lightning crackled around his arms, twisting and spiraling around him like a wind, but did not seem to hurt or even touch him.

“Jack!  Jack!”

Feet pounded against the floor towards him, but he still couldn’t get his arms to function.  Couldn’t get words out of his suddenly raw throat. Out of the corner of his vision, he saw the red-eyed Lua— no, Aporia— lift up one hand.  The lightning coursed to his hand and congealed into sphere that leaped and jumped with electricity.

_ Carly, no, run—  _

The lightning let loose and he heard Carly scream, heard the thump and crash of her body against the floor.

“I am sorry,” Aporia said, their voice sounding unnatural and strange coming from Lua’s lips.  “But you are not necessary.”

The air grew cool and fizzy, and a thin sheen of silver mist filled the air over Jack’s head.  He felt a rush of cool air wash over him as the eerie keen of Pixie Veil Dragon echoed over the room.  A thicker haze of mist fell over Jack, and then he felt frantic small hands grabbing at his shoulders, trying desperately to drag at his body.  Luka wasn’t strong enough to support him, though, and she kept stumbling and gasping. Jack tried to force movement into his limbs— she was trying to save him, and he couldn’t...he couldn’t do anything.  He managed to twitch his fingers and blink a few times, and still Luka tried to drag him across the floor under the protection of Pixie Veil’s mist.

“You cannot hide,” Aporia said.  “The Light illuminates all.”

A blinding light flashed and left Jack seeing spots, and when he was able to see again, Luka’s mist was gone, and she was stumbling to her knees.  He felt her panicked tears dribbling onto his face.

“Lua, please!” she shouted.  “Lua! Wake up!”

He had to get up.  He had to protect them.  He had to protect them protect them protect them protect them— 

Heat flared over his arm, and he started to feel a weight dragging at his back— it wasn’t like when he took on all of the Signer marks at once, but something different, like there was an electricity gathering at his shoulder blades.  It snapped his body free of the paralyzation, and he pushed himself up onto his knees. He pushed Luka behind him, looking for Carly. She was against a far wall, crumpled with her head leaning down, and for a moment, he panicked. Oh god.  He shouldn’t have let her come— 

Then her body took in a shuddering breath that shook her shoulders, and she lifted her head, glasses gone.  She winced and put her hands over her eyes as though it were still bright. She was alive— hurt, probably, but still alive.  He allowed himself the barest breath of relief.

“Jack,” Aporia’s voice called, and Jack whipped to face them.  It was eerie and wrong to see Lua like this, passive, eyes as red as dried blood, the light crackling around him.  “Jack. We need you and Luka. It will be easier if you just come with us.”

“You tried to kill us,” Jack swore.

“No.  I tried to immobilize you,” Aporia said.

“Well fuck right off and leave Lua’s body, because whatever you’re doing we want no part of it,” Jack swore.  

Pixie Veil Dragon was still hovering protectively over head, but her mist had been dispelled.  He chafed a bit— should he summon Red Nova? He couldn’t hurt Lua, but he had to defend them. What a coward, using Lua’s body to prevent them from attacking.  He had to find a way to wake Lua up...

“Lua!” Luka cried again, trying to push around Jack.  “Lua, you can hear me, right?? You’ve always been able to hear me!”

Tears rolled down her cheeks, but Lua’s expression didn’t change.  Aporia just stared at them with an unchanging face.

Wait.  Lua could hear Luka’s voice even across dimensions.  Lua could talk to people across entire worlds. If his subconscious was still in there...maybe he could hear Luka.  Maybe if he...

Jack grabbed Luka’s hand, feeling the heat around his back increase, warping around them as though he were wrapping the two of them in his wings.

“Keep calling to him,” Jack said, filling himself up with fire.  “Keep calling. I’ll amplify your voice as much as I can.”

Luka gasped a bit as Jack began to siphon his flames into her through her arm, her eyes widening.  She was starting to take on a fiery glow. But then she pressed her lips together with determination.

“Lua!  I know you can hear me!”

Aporia’s eyes tightened.  Their lip turned down slightly.

The lightning increased around them, and Jack tensed, pushing Luka back again without letting go of her hand.  Pixie Veil tried to swoop in between them, but Aporia let loose another strike of lightning, and Luka choked as Pixie Veil screamed.

“Red Nova!” Jack shouted.  “Protect Pixie Veil!”

The air rent with fire, licking upwards at the ceiling as though he’d just opened a portal to hell.  Red Nova forced its way through before gate closed. It roared so loudly that the whole room shook, moving its huge body over the top of Pixie Veil and in between Aporia and them.  It hissed, tail whipping, but Jack kept a hold of it, preventing it from attacking Aporia. He couldn’t risk hurting Lua.

“Lua!!” Luka kept calling, tears streaming down her cheeks.  “You have to come back! You promised you wouldn’t leave me alone!”

Jack could hardly breathe for the heat and static in the air, the tremble in his hands.  He tightened his grip on Luka, wondering how long it would be before he, too, broke down and cried.

Over the tops of Red Nova’s folded wings, Jack could still only barely see Lua’s face.  He couldn’t tell if he was imagining it or not, but...

He looked sad.

* * *

Somewhere, distantly, he could hear voices.  Who was calling his name? Did he even remember his name?

Heat.  He remembered heat, a beautiful, swelling warmth that filled up his heart, made it beat quicker with excitement...and love.  He remembered something about love. It was hard to think.

He remembered pain, too, the cold of the blood seeping out of his chest, the pulsing clenched in his hand.  The heart he gave away. Wait...when did he give away his own heart? It was hard to think. He tried to move, but it was like he didn’t have a body.  He tried to see, but there was nothing but white.

Someone was shouting his name.  Who was it? He thought that if he tried, he could remember.  Something...someone...cool and dark and smooth....no no, someone small and round and bright.  Ugh, it was no use, he couldn’t remember! Where was he, anyway?  _ Who _ was he, for that matter?  He thought it should be easy to tell, people were shouting his name...at least, he thought it was his name, but he couldn’t pick out the actual words, he could only get the impression of it, a familiarity that it might be his own name.

He was so lonely.  He wanted...someone back.  He just wanted them back. He was so tired of being lonely.  Of being cold. Of being  _ stuck _ .

_ “LUA!!” _

The name cracked through his brain, and Lua woke up.

Or at least, he thought he did.  He gasped for air, but he wasn’t breathing.  It was like there was a vice around his chest and arms; he couldn’t move them.  

But he could finally see.

As though they were somehow far beneath him, he could see Jack, Luka, and Carly.  Luka was on her knees, looking like she was choking, and Carly was trying to hold onto her even though she looked like she was about to pass out herself.  Jack seemed to be shouting, waving his fist.  Red Nova Dragon appeared, shoving itself in between Jack and a bolt of lightning that came...from his own hand?  


He tried to scream.  Something.  Anything.  

Pain wracked through his brain as he tried to speak.  _Luka.  Jack.  Carly._   None of the names would come to him; every time he tried there was a blinding pain and he felt like he was going to throw up.

“It will only hurt more the more you try to force it.

Lua found, suddenly, that he was able to turn his head towards the voice.  But then, he wasn’t where he was before.

A vast expanse of white surrounded him, and yet somehow, he could tell there were walls.  It was like he was trapped in huge, glowing white cube. 

Standing out starkly against the white stood a small, slender person— Lua recognized them.  It was that boy, Luciano, one of the Emperors of Yliaster. Only, he was missing the metal bits all over his face from before— he looked like a normal kid in a uniform....in the same uniform as Lua’s school, actually.

“No,” they said.  “I’m not. I’m Aporia.”

Lua’s eyes widened.  He hadn’t even said anything, and Luciano— Aporia— had read his mind?

“I’m in your mind, so it’s not hard.  Besides, I can’t let you talk right now.”

Lua opened his mouth, but found that no words were coming out of it.  The more he pushed, the more pain tremored through him.

“You woke up faster than I expected.  I put so much effort into locking up your voice I guess I didn’t have enough energy to lock up the rest of you.”

Why??  Why was he doing this?

“Because your voice is your power, and I can’t let you use it.”

His voice? Why his voice?  He knew that he had power now, and sometimes there was so much of it that it overwhelmed him with fire and heat.  It seemed centered in his chest, gripping his heart, and he knew that if he thought hard enough about it, he’d open the floodgates of all of the knowing all at once that was so hard for him to sort and concentrate on, but then maybe he’d know what Aporia was talking about.

Aporia tapped Lua on the forehead with one finger and Lua gasped, jumping back.

“Through a voice comes truth, and through truth you make reality,” Aporia said.  “And I can’t let you make a new reality. I have to keep you here, with me.”

Lua didn’t understand.  He knew that he was the Heart.  He knew that much. If he pushed a little harder, he could remember what he had known about what that meant.

His previous captor had said they needed him for the Circuit.  To set the Circuit on fire and to give them enough energy to fold over time.

“That’s right.  We need you because you’re the last missing piece.”

Lua shook his head.  It was somehow starting to hurt, and he could feel it behind his eyes, even though for all he knew in this weird world, he didn’t actually have eyes.  His real body was still out in the world.

He looked up at Aporia, instead, surprised that they had taken the youngest of their four forms.  He had expected, if anything, they’d take on their newest, hulking form that seemed to be the combination of the previous three.

“That one is a fake.  It was an unstable and defective body, but it was necessary to bring us back together into one, to recombine our split programs and regain our full capacity.  I’m in this body because it’s easier to project a smaller form. It takes up less memory, since I’m devoting a lot to you.”

What were they saying?  That they were some kinda...program?

Lua was surprised when Aporia nodded.

“I’m a living AI.  Crafted specifically for you.  The real Aporia died a long time ago.  I’m all that’s left.”

Lua didn’t know why Aporia was being so open about everything right now.  Aporia didn’t have to answer any of his questions, and yet here he was, blabbing away at everything.

“You’re in my head as much as I’m in yours.  It’s difficult to shield thoughts.”

And then, hesitantly, Aporia smiled.  It looked nervous, but genuine.

“And I’m hoping I can convince you to help us of your own accord.”

What???  Was Aporia crazy?  They were trying to destroy the world!!

“Not destroy it.  Save it.”

Well, destroy the City, at the very least!

“It’s about acceptable costs.  We can save the world, but there will be collateral damage.  Hundreds will die to save billions. Don’t you think it’s a fair trade?”

Lua glowered at him, fists tightening up at his sides.  Absolutely he did not!

“Even though it’s what you planned for yourself?”

Lua felt his face drain of heat.  How did...Aporia...

Aporia simply looked at him, and tapped the side of their head with one finger.

“In your head,” they repeated.


	47. Hercules

**The more you try to break free, the more you only hurt yourself.**

_ I don’t fucking care. _

**Humans never know when to rest.  It’s why you’re the only beings that leave behind ghosts.  You’ve never known when to let go.**

_ I won’t let go.  I can’t let go. Not until they’re safe. _

**How many times must we go over this?  If you save them, if you save him, the rest of the world will die.  The universe will fall apart. They will die anyway.**

_ No.  There has to be another way.  I know there has to be. _

**Sometimes there isn’t.**

_ If I could just tell them.  If I could tell them that if they do what they’re supposed to, that he’d die, then—  _

**Then they wouldn’t even try.  They’d give up. You should know that much about them.**

_ No, they would find a way to save him.  They’d find a way to save everyone, if only they knew. _

**This, coming from the man who wanted to destroy them?  You suddenly have a lot of faith in them.**

_ It’s like you said, isn’t it?  They’ve come farther this time.  Farther than you ever imagined they could.  I couldn’t see until I was here. Maybe...dammit.  Judai’s always pulled it off, at any rate. I should have believed in him more.  I should have... _

**I’m not sure I believe you.  It sounds more like you’re telling me what I want to hear in an attempt to get me to let you go.  I couldn’t even if I wanted to, you know. I don’t have enough energy left anymore. Light is too far gone, and with them, most of me.**

_ No, that’s not what this is.  But it’s not like you’d ever believe me.  You never cared about me. You never cared about anyone, or anything— anything except for Light, isn’t that right?  That’s the one you loved. The one you’ll let others die for to save. _

**Light was the one who loved humans.  I never knew how. And it destroyed them.  It destroyed me to watch.**

_ You couldn’t understand, I guess. _

**No.  I understood.  I understood because I loved Light, and Light loved them.  I nurtured life, but I didn’t know how to understand it the way they did.**

**I watched that love ruin them.  Watched them break apart over the pain that came of heart that grew out of that love, until they had to separate themselves from it to stave away the pain.**

_ Maybe that’s what drove them mad in the first place. _

**What?**

_ Love hurts.  It always does, even when you’re happy.  Because to love someone means you know you could lose them, or that something could go wrong, but you love them anyway.  A heart is pain. But without a heart, what’s left? _

**......**

**You are wiser than I give you credit for, Fujiwara.**

_ I don’t suppose that will make you want to help me any more, will it? _

**I told you already.  I don’t have any more energy to make another contract with you, or release you from me.**

**But if I did...**

**I might gamble on your hope.**

**I may not have a heart of my own, but...**

**Perhaps that** **_is_ ** **where the madness started.  When Light gave up their heart.  When I begged them to cut it away to end the pain they always felt over the fate of life.  Perhaps it really is our fault that the world is dying like this.**

**We’ve always been hopeless fools, Light and I.**

**I suppose all I can hope for is that you’re right.**

**That perhaps they’ll be less of fools than we were.**

* * *

Aki screamed.

Her hair whipped around her face with the rage that pumped through her blood and seethed in the air around her like a heat haze.  Sherry swore. She kicked Crow’s body off of her, and he came off of her lance with a horrible squelch and a gasping, choking wheeze.  Aki flung up her hands, and Rose Tentacles lunged forward to catch him in its vines, cradling him back.

“Bitch!” Aki screamed.

Sherry’s lips curled back in a snarl, and a horrible sting ripped through Aki’s side as one of Sherry’s knights cut through one of her rose monsters.  She didn’t let herself stumble, though. She was rage, she was anger, she had to be so. She could feel the buzz under her skin, one she remembered from long ago days when she’d ravaged city alleys as the Black Rose Witch.  Three tubes nearby her shattered and glass flung up into the air around her in a whirlwind. Sherry would not get away with this. She wouldn’t get away with hurting her friends, with threatening them! Aki would cut straight through her if she had to!

The gloves were off, and Aki could tell that Sherry knew by the paleness that spread through her face.  Sherry flipped her spear up defensively and it morphed into a metal shield that covered her like a turtle shell before Aki let loose the fury of the glass shard tornado at her face.  

A knight swung its lance at Aki’s head and Aki’s eyes flashed towards it.  She snapped her hand up with a speed and agility she hadn’t know she possessed, grabbing the lance in one hand and wrenching it aside.  Rose petals cut the knight to tiny pieces when it stumbled.

Rose Tentacles drew back behind Aki, and the rage in her subsided just for a moment as panic replaced it.  She hurried over to the little bundle of vines and petals that Rose Tentacles had made around its passenger to defend him from the swirling winds.

Crow lay crumpled inside, gasping and heaving for breath.  Aki sent up a wall of vines behind her and called up another wave of rose creatures to defend her back while she tended to him.

His hands were pressed to his stomach, and the blood was seeping out between his fingers already.  He was pale beneath his markers, eyes screwed shut. Aki gently pried his hands away from the wound to see how bad it was.  She nearly threw up— it was very bad. The spear had gone clear through his stomach. If she didn’t do something quickly, he would choke on his own blood and die, or else he’d bleed out in a few more minutes.  That was if he wasn’t bleeding internally. Fuck. What could she even do?? 

“Crow, stay with me,” she gasped, putting a hand to his forehead.  Her palm was stained with the blood from his stomach, and she accidentally smeared it onto his face. 

Crow let out a bubbly gasp, eyes fluttering.

“I promise, I’ll find a way to save you,” Aki said.  God, she didn’t know what to do, she was panicking, she could barely breathe— her hands were shaking.  He was going to die. Oh god. She was going to lose him. She— she was going to lose him, she was going to watch him die— 

For the barest second, she was on a balcony again, hearing a twisted scream, and the sight of a body plummeting past her was burned to her retinas.  She choked and gasped as a whole new series of awful feelings bubbled up to the surface, feelings she didn’t have the time or luxury of acknowledging.

“A—ki,” Crow gasped.  “Aki. Pl...ease...”

“Don’t talk, don’t talk, I’ll protect you, I promise, I won’t fail, I promise, I promise, I promise!”

She couldn’t see now.  Her eyes were bubbling up with tears and she was choking.  Her knees were ready to give out— her Black Rose rage was not enough to sustain the panic that was overtaking her.  She was going to be all alone again. She was going to lose someone again and it was going to be all her fault.

“I need you both alive!” Sherry shouted over the roar of wind around them.  “If you surrender, I’ll make sure he gets medical treatment!”

There it was again.  The rage. The anger, the bubbling, shrieking outrage at the enemy who was trying to tear her world apart by taking away the people she cared about.  Aki felt her throat close and her eyes burn. She whipped towards Sherry’s metal stronghold again. A hiss escaped her throat, lips curling back in a bared teeth snarl.  

Sherry let her metal shield down and turned it back into a spear.  Her lips curled when she caught Aki’s gaze.

“I see it’s going to be the hard way then,” Sherry said.

“I’ll kill you,” Aki hissed, her voice not even sounding like her own.

Sherry snorted.

“Fine then,” she said.  “Do it if you can.”

She spun her spear around and stabbed it directly into the ground.

Immediately, a burst of light consumed the room.  Aki shrieked, throwing her hands in front of her protectively.  She felt her roses being burnt away, her wind quelled into stillness all at once, heard the chiming of glass shards all collapsing to the ground like rain.

When the light cleared, Aki had to squint and blink to get her vision back.

Sherry was overhead of Aki suddenly, and Aki tensed, taking a step back with her arms still crossed in front of her.  But Sherry didn’t appear to be moving— hang on.

A massive, glowing silver wall with circuits running down the sides had covered the entirety of the far wall, completely obscuring the door.  Sherry herself appeared to be strapped into the wall itself around the torso, her arms clamped down and her head grabbed by some kind of vice on either side.  It gave Aki pause, even in her blinding rage. What was this supposed to be? Was Sherry going to fight her like this?

“Well?” Sherry demanded.  “You said you’d kill me, Izayoi Aki!  And now it’s your only way through.”

Aki eyed the wall with suspicion.  It was glowing with some eerie aura, and she didn’t trust Sherry a damn.  What was her game?

“This wall is made from solid Light,” Sherry said.  “It’s the last resort of the powers that Z-ONE granted me.  When this wall is activated, it’s impossible to break down— unless you destroy the linchpin.”

Aki’s eyes raised up to where Sherry was strapped into the wall.

“And let me guess,” Aki said.  “You’re the linchpin.”

“Kill me and the wall goes down,” Sherry said.  “But you’ll have blood on your hands, Izayoi Aki.  If you’re ready to handle that.”

Aki’s lips curled back in another snarl.  Who did Sherry think she was? She was the Black Rose Witch.

She already swam in blood.

Aki lifted both of her hands, the wind gathering to her hands once again and lifting glass and metal into the air.

“I’ll make it quick,” she snarled.

“A—ki!”

A hand grabbed for her wrist, and she lost her focus.  She gasped as her arm dragged down under the weight of the grip and she stumbled, but then the slippery grip came off of her and she heard a thump.  She whipped around— Crow was on the floor. He gasped, curling in on himself.

“Crow!  You shouldn’t be moving!”

“A..Aki,” Crow gasped.  “W-wait.”

He was choking, and when he coughed, blood spittled the ground.  He groaned and hugged his stomach with both arms. Aki immediately dropped to her knees beside him, panic overtaking her again.

“Crow, don’t worry, I’ll get us through here, I’ll get us through and I’ll find someone who can heal you!  I’ll find Judai, or—”

“No,” Crow rasped.  “D-don’t...don’t do this...Aki...please...”

“I’ve already killed so many, Crow, one more is nothing if I can save someone,” Aki gasped, choking on her own tears.

“No...Aki...please...l-look...look at...at Sherry...she’s...there’s something...”

Crow coughed again, curling up on himself.  Aki’s heart leaped into her throat.

But she gasped.  Her brain felt clear, suddenly, as though she were stable again.  As though something were balancing her out, bringing her back to herself.  Oh...oh she’d...she’d almost lost herself. She’d let the Black Rose Witch take over again.  But something about Crow’s words, and the sudden warmth on her arm and the glow on Crow’s, made her feel at balance again.  She inhaled once, exhaled. 

Then she looked, the way Crow asked her.

Sherry was far away, across the room and above her, so it was a little hard to make out her face, but if Aki squinted, blinked away her tears, she could see.

She could see Sherry’s pale, determined face.  Her tight jaw and trembling lip. Her hard as flint eyes and slightly shaking body, gripped in the claw of the wall.

She realized, with an awful shock, that she’d seen eyes like Sherry’s before.

She’d see them in herself, in the mirror, a long time ago.

“Sherry,” Aki gasped.  “You want to die, don’t you?”

Sherry’s lips curled.

“And you want to kill me, so it works out, doesn’t it?”

Crow was right, in his fragmented attempt to talk to her.  Something was wrong. Sherry had other plans laid here, and she was willing to die to make them happen.  More than willing to die, in fact. It chilled Aki to her core, thinking about how close she’d been to granting such an awful wish.

She thought about asking why.  About pressing. But she knew that Sherry would never answer. 

So instead, she stood.  Her feet came easily to her, and she didn’t sway.  She balanced easily on the soles of her boots, turning to face Sherry.

“There’s only one way through,” Sherry repeated.  “You have to kill me.”

The wall pulsed with light running down its circuits.  Behind her, Aki could still feel Crow’s warm marking pulsing with her own, and she felt stable on her ground.  Almost as though...like she had a tail, behind her, keeping her steady, balancing out her center of gravity.

Sherry insisted that the only way to get rid of the wall was to kill her.  But what if there was another way around?

She stepped towards the wall.  She didn’t sway, or stumble. Her feet were steady and sure.  She could feel Sherry’s eyes on her, and wondered what Sherry was thinking right then.  Did she plan to say anything? Get Aki to kill her? Aki still could. The option was on the table.

But Crow had tried to tell her something.  Aki had a friend who needed her help. And she needed to listen.  She needed to breathe.

She reached the wall, inches from her face.  It glowed, but it gave off no heat. She reached out, laid her hands against it.

It felt cold.  Not like metal.  But like something that was long, long dead.

Sherry wanted to die.  Aki remembered that feeling.  The cold, husk-like sense of everything withered up inside of her.  She closed her eyes and tried to remember it. 

Beneath her fingers, the wall shuddered.  It felt hollow beneath her hands. Empty...withered and wilted.  Like a rose that had never bloomed.

“The only way is to kill me, you won’t break it down,” Sherry shouted from overhead.  But her voice shook.

There was another way, Aki thought.

She inhaled.  Exhaled.

The space inside the wall was dead, like a wilted flower.  Well. Aki’s expertise was flowers.

She pushed gently at first.  Pressed her hands against the wall.  Braced her feet against the floor. Felt her imaginary tail, Crow’s warmth, balancing and supporting her from behind.  She urged the warmth through her and into the cold, dead husk.

“What are you doing?” Sherry said.  “What are you doing??”

Aki didn’t open her eyes.  She encouraged it forward, faster now, the life and warmth running down her arms.  Her blood was glowing beneath her arms, now, and she could feel something itching against her back, felt the back of her dress bulge as though she were about to sprout wings.  A keen grew up inside her throat and came out through her lips.

The keen echoed through the room as Black Rose Dragon reappeared behind her, spreading her wings.  The whole room filled with petals again, but instead of a whirlwind, it was a rainstorm, swirling past her like rain drops in a warm, life-giving spread of rain.

“Wake up,” she whispered to the wilted husk within the wall.  “It’s time to wake up.”

Black Rose Dragon let out another cry, and then everything in Aki’s blood came to life.

For a moment, there was only red— the warm, pulsing, life giving red that rushed out of her body.  For another moment, she wasn’t in her own body— she was in Black Rose’s. She was watching Black Rose grow larger from Black Rose’s eyes, watching her petals blend into a dazzling white and gold, her scales turn a shining silver, and the wall that held Sherry was coming apart.

Sherry let out a cry— but it wasn’t one of pain.  From Black Rose— no, it was White Rose Dragon, in this form— from her eyes, Aki saw Sherry tumble free of the wall, towards the ground, as the wall itself exploded into an array of brilliant roses.  Gigantic roses in every shade of the rainbow burst forth as the wall became brambles, and Sherry dropped to safety into a great blossom that sprouted beneath her. It bounced a bit with her weight, but it didn’t let her fall to the ground, and she sank into the center of the blossom like it was a plush bed.

Aki came back to herself, then, with a dizzy snap.  Finally, her legs decided that they could not hold her anymore, and she stumbled to her knees before the great wall of roses that she had somehow birthed.

White Rose Dragon still hovered above the room, and she looked back to see her newly evolved dragon with her own eyes, lips parting with wonder.  

“You’re beautiful,” she whispered.

White Rose hummed a tone that sent a tickle through Aki’s chest, and she giggled.

Then she heard a faint grunt, and remembered Crow.

Gasping, she tried to struggle to her feet.

“Hey, you’re good, don’t move,” she heard Crow say, his voice a little wobbly.  He chuckled as she managed to turn herself around on her knees, and she saw him on his feet.  He still had a hand on his stomach, and it was still bloody, but...he looked like he was walking all right.

“Crow, oh god, are you—”

Crow moved his hand away from his stomach.  His skin was smooth and unscarred. Her mouth dropped open.

“Whatever you pumped this room with was some pretty strong ass stuff,” he said, grinning.  

He stumbled when he tried to walk forward, though, and Aki fumbled to her feet— though she immediately fell, too, like a young deer with wobbly legs.

Thin, golden brambles grew gently behind each of them, steadying them by wrapping around their waists and gently holding them up.  White Rose let out a whuffling sound, as though she were annoyed by them. Aki couldn’t help but giggle.

She heard a soft cough from a giant rose blossom nearby, and looked over as she remembered Sherry.

Sherry lay within the embrace of a large, dark pink rose, staring up at the ceiling.  Her golden blond hair lay in a fanned out expanse around her. When Aki carefully made her way towards her, White Rose supporting her, Sherry didn’t even look in her direction.

“You should have killed me,” she said.

“I realized I couldn’t do that,” Aki said.

Sherry snorted, and a sardonic smile twisted her lips.

“If you’d killed me, Z-ONE’s wall would have consumed you,” she said, still not looking at Aki.  Aki paused with surprise. “You and Crow would have been drawn into Z-ONE’s bubble world, and you would have been captured by him.  I planned on stabbing Crow before he attacked me, to whip you into a rage. But you didn’t fall for it.”

Aki could only stare at her, her mouth hanging open.  She’d...she’d been so close to...to pulling them both into a trap...

Sherry sighed, and with visible effort, she raised her arm to flop it over her eyes.

“But why?” Aki asked, her voice trembling.  “Your parents were killed by Yliaster, so why would you die for them so easily?”

Sherry’s lips tightened, and then relaxed.

“He didn’t know,” she whispered.  “He didn’t know they were going to kill them.  He told them not to kill them, but they did anyway.”

“He?” Aki said, blinking with surprise.

“Who’s ‘he’?” Crow asked.

“All he wanted was to save everyone,” Sherry said.  “And he said that once he achieved ultimate existence, he’d be able to bring me and my parents back into a world where we could live together.”

She swallowed, smiling faintly.

“God, I’m stupid, huh?  To believe in such a miracle being possible?  Maybe what I really wanted was an excuse to finally give up.”

She let her arm slide off of her face, and turned her head towards Aki.  Her eyes were full of tears, but she smiled anyway. It hurt, to see her smile like that— because Aki understood the emotion all too well.  The awful relief and pain at not dying.

“And you wouldn’t let me have it,” she said with a choked laugh.  “You really are cruel, Rose Witch.”

Aki opened her mouth, but she didn’t know what to say.

Sherry swallowed.

“You can go through,” she said, nodding towards the door on the other side of Aki’s new brambles.  The brambles were big enough that they could fit through with no problem, Aki saw. And she was sure she could pull them apart with her powers, anyway.  “Maybe I was wrong. Maybe he is just crazy. And if he is, then maybe you guys are the only ones who can save him.”

“What are you talking about?” Crow asked.  “Who is ‘ _ he _ ’?”

“Why did he want us alive?” Aki asked, her voice trembling.

Sherry looked pained when she smiled again.

“I don’t think I can get up for a while,” she said.  “Otherwise I’d go with you.”

She swallowed.

“But I guess you deserve to know what you’re getting into.”

She had to close her eyes, as though talking were difficult for her to do.  She exhaled once in a long burst.

“He needs you because he needs the rest of the Crimson Dragon,” she said.  “The Dragon split itself into pieces in order to stave off the spread of the Madness, but also to prevent it from being used as a weapon.”

Sherry inhaled again to speak. 

“And he....the leader of Yliaster...he’s...”

Aki felt the entire world go ice cold around her at the name that Sherry spoke out loud.  Crow swore. Aki’s head spun.

“No,” she said.  “No way. You’re lying.  You have got to be lying to me.”


	48. Eridanus

It burned.  But it wasn’t like a fiery sort of pain...more like sunlight that was just a little too hot, like he was lying on a beach in the afternoon.  He couldn’t see, either, it was too bright. He tried to put his hands over his eyes, but it didn’t help. He could still see the light even through his hands, as though it were painted over his eyes.  It  _ hurt _ .

But then...it receded.  Gently, like the tide rushing off the beach.  Judai pulled his hands from his eyes, and squinted.

The world was nothing but white, but he could at least see his own hands, now.  He turned in a slow circle. The horizon was endless. It was as though he had been drawn into Light’s world, the opposite of Darkness’s.  He’d only seen a glimpse of Light’s world from the edge when Darkness brought him and Yusei to see what remained of Light, but this was about what Judai remembered.  Why and how was he here, though? He had no connection to Light...the opposite in fact. His head panged a bit and he winced.

He rubbed the heels of his palms into his temples, trying to remember what had happened.  That’s right: Johan. Yusei. They’d found Johan, and gotten him out of the machine. Yusei had thought he’d seen Bruno, and gone after him.  Then there was the wall...and then the light that crept across the room and consumed Judai.

What about Johan?  Had he been dragged in too?  Judai looked around again, but there was no sign of his friend.  He was alone in here.

“Hello?” he called.

His voice echoed as though he were inside a large metal warehouse.  He shivered. It was still a little too warm in here.

“Hey!” he shouted again, irritated now.  “This isn’t funny! Get out here and fight me or something!”

His voice only echoed back to him.  He stood there in the middle of nothing and his fists curled up.  Well, he’d find his own way out then. He closed his eyes and reached for Yubel.

His eyes flew open again when he realized that Yubel wasn’t there.

“Yubel?” he said.  “Yubel!!”

Nothing.  There was no answer.  Judai couldn’t feel his wings or his claws or his eyes.  He couldn’t hear her voice or sense her scales beneath his skin.  Her presence was just— gone.

He really was alone.

“Yubel!!” he shouted again, spinning in circles.  “Yubel!”

He couldn’t breathe.  The panic was too much.  He’d never been this alone in years.  He always had Yubel, at the very least, and now even she was gone, and he didn’t know how that could have happened or where she could be— 

_ “It’s all right...please calm down.  Breathe, Judai.” _

The voice seemed to echo from all around him, and Judai stiffened.  He didn’t even know where to look for the source of the voice.

“Who’s there?” he shouted.  “Show yourself!”

_ “I am.” _

“Don’t fucking lie!  I don’t see you!”

_ “You’re looking at me, all around you.” _

Judai stared around at his surroundings, turning in a circle.  A nervous twisting assaulted his stomach. “All around him?” But the only thing around him was...light...

“...Light?” he asked.

_ “Sort of.  Not the one you remember.” _

“That doesn’t make any fucking sense.”

_ “When I come from, Light died.  The universe couldn’t sustain itself without them, so I had to become Light instead.  But it didn’t work properly. I’m...incomplete.” _

The world shuddered then for a moment, like a flicker on a blank screen.  Judai’s vision swam, but then an image became visible, for just a moment. 

He saw a huge, hovering metal capsule, sort of like an upside down nautilus shell.  The metal gleamed in the light, and...and somewhere in the middle, near the top, he could see a bit of skin.  The flash of an eye.

Then the image was gone again, and Judai blinked rapidly, trying to figure out if he had really seen that.  Hang on, wait, that shape was familiar...hadn’t he seen that before?

It came to him in a moment.  It had been in a dream, during the first couple of days that he’d arrived in this time.  Yusei had been there, too, in the same dream. He’d said something about feeling like someone had walked over his grave.  Judai squinted, trying to find a glimpse of that machine again, but it didn’t appear.

_ “I can’t live much longer,” _ the voice said again.   _ “Antinomy built this to sustain what remains of my physical body, but...it has a time limit.  I’ll die unless I complete myself. And the universe will die, too.” _

“So you plan to destroy an entire city to save yourself?” Judai snarled.

_ “Not myself.  The world.” _

This must be them— the leader of Yliaster.  The one he’d seen in the video, the one who’d looked like they were made of the Light of Destruction itself.  They were crazy, completely off kilter.

_ “I saw the world die, once,”  _ they said softly.   _ “I don’t wish to let it go again.” _

“I don’t believe a word you’re saying,” Judai said.  “You’re— you’re crazy. You’ve got a bunch of murderbots, you’ve blown up an entire city once already, and you plan to do it again?  What if it doesn’t work this time, either?”

_ “It will work.  This time it will.” _

“And how are you so sure?”

A deep sigh echoed around Judai.  He felt something warm brush past his hair, like a breeze.  Or a hand.

_ “Because,” _ they whispered.   _ “This time I have you.” _

* * *

Yusei flung himself to the side again, slamming his hip against the corner of the control console and gasping with pain.  The air crackled with electricity, but the blow missed him by inches, scorching the ground where he’d been before. Yusei swore and pulled himself up to his feet, making another bolt for the door on the other side of the room.

Bruno’s monster, a tall, white robed being holding a large book, blocked his path and Yusei had to skid to a stop.  He leaped backwards and threw his Duel Disk in front of him like a shield, but he didn’t have the chance to do anything with it before a energy pulsed from the book and struck him in the chest, sending him skidding backwards and slamming into the wall.  He gasped at the stars that flashed in his eyes.

“Bruno!” he gasped, trying to keep his feet.  “Bruno, why are you doing this?”

Bruno didn’t reply, and his face only barely twitched with irritation.  It  _ was _ Bruno, wasn’t it?  Yusei wasn’t imagining things?

It was him, but it was also that duelist, the one with the visor goggles who had confronted him that night and challenged him to find a power beyond speed.  He’d had a strange, one-wheel D-Wheel and had shown him Accel Synchro, weeks before Yusei had learned it himself. But now that they were nearly face to face, he could see that it was  _ absolutely _ Bruno.  His eyes were the same, if harsher than he remembered Bruno’s expressions ever being.

Yusei had to duck again when Bruno’s monster came at him with another pulse and crackle of energy.  Bruno raised one hand and a second monster appeared at his side, this one a gleaming metal, humanoid shaped being with one entire arm made up of a gun.  Yusei swore. He ducked again under the flurry of bullets that exploded over the metal over his head. He hit the ground, rolled, and came back on his feet at the other side of the room.  He was going to get boxed in like this.

“Aren’t you going to fight back?” Bruno said, finally.  The familiar sound of his voice startled Yusei after he had been so utterly silent for so long, and it took him aback.

Yusei edged backwards, tense as the two monsters advanced on him.  He could fight back, he was pretty sure. He had summoned Stardust before to get them up here even though he wasn’t a psychic duelist.  He could feel Stardust buzzing beneath his skin right now, desperate to battle. There wasn’t enough space for Stardust, but he wasn’t sure which of his monsters he might have enough of a bond with to summon on a moment’s notice.  He didn’t exactly have the time or chance to grab for his deck right now in this situation.

And besides...

“I don’t want to fight you, Bruno,” Yusei said.  “Not without knowing why!”

Bruno’s lips turned downwards.

“My name is Antinomy,” he said.  “I’m sorry, Yusei, but I was never the person you knew.  Bruno doesn’t exist.”

Yusei clenched his fists, edging back even further.  His back hit the wall, then, and he swore. Where was Judai?  Was he okay on the other side? Could Judai hear what was going on over here?  Could he and Yubel tear through the wall, maybe? No, he couldn’t rely on Judai right now, for all he knew, Judai could be struggling himself.  He had to find a way back to him on his own.

“That doesn’t make any sense,” Yusei said.  “What happened to— we were friends, weren’t we, Bruno?  You said...”

He struggled with his words, finding them suddenly stuck in his throat.  He was so— he didn’t know how he was supposed to feel right now. He was separated from Judai and his friends, in a building that shouldn’t exist in a city that loomed over his own, facing down someone he had thought was his friend, and he didn’t know how to parse any of this.  All he could think of in that moment was the last time he had seen Bruno, before he had gone with Judai and Johan to investigate the Director’s office. He remembered what Bruno had said, and the way it had confused him.

“You said you wanted to help us no matter what,” Yusei said.  “You said that you were our friend, and that you promised to do whatever you could to help us, Bruno.  Was that all a lie?”

Bruno’s eyes suddenly flashed.  A pale rage seemed to grip his face, and his monsters moved at his silent wash of anger.  

The white-robed magician struck first, hitting Yusei in the chest with a blast of energy that he had no room to dodge.  He gasped— for a moment, his vision went black, and when he came back to himself, the metallic monster had him by the throat, lifting him into the air and slamming him hard against the wall.

“It wasn’t you I made that promise to!” Bruno— or was it Antinomy? — shouted.

Yusei wildly punched out one hand, slamming his fist against the robot’s elbow.  It was enough to startle the grip free of his throat and he dropped to the ground, crumpling.  He couldn’t breathe or see for a moment. He couldn’t feel his body, his vision was sparking with stars in his eyes and he wasn’t sure he could quite here Antinomy’s ranting.

“My memories were  _ ripped  _ from me!”

The energy caught Yusei in the side this time and he went flying across the room, hitting and skidding.  Fuck, he couldn’t even get his brain to stop rattling long enough to figure out where he was, much less what he should do.

“My memories were stolen from me, my will warped, all for some twisted game!  You weren’t the one I promised to protect and fight for! It wasn’t  _ you _ !  The Light broke up everything that I was and rebuilt my entire identity— am I supposed to  _ accept  _ that?”

Yusei coughed, his whole body rattling with it.  He seemed to have gotten a breather, though, because he was able to pull himself to his knees.

Antinomy looked like he was on the verge of a breakdown.  He gripped the sides of his head, eyes wide behind his visor, face a bone white pale.  His whole body was trembling— with panic or rage, Yusei wasn’t sure. 

“Bruno,” he gasped again.  “Bruno— please. Even if that’s true, the bonds we formed weren’t a lie!”

“That’s not my  _ name! _ ”

Antinomy screamed, and the sound came out like the feedback on a speaker, making Yusei clamp his hands over his ears.  The metal robot raised up its gun towards Yusei.

It was then that Yusei realized he’d been flung back towards the open door.

Yusei wasn’t confident in his feet, yet, but he had to get out of here.  He had to find a way back to Judai, and put space between him and Bruno/Antinomy...whatever was happening, whatever pain he was in, Yusei had to figure it out, had to figure out what pieces he was missing and try to get through to him.

He didn’t want to fight a friend.  So pulled himself to a staggering stand, turned towards the door, and he ran.


	49. Telescopium

“Lua!” Luka screamed again.   _“Lua!"_

Her throat was growing hoarser by the second and she didn’t know how much longer she could scream.  The Aporia possessed Lua just looked at her impassively, when she could actually see him behind the wings of Red Nova, who was still valiantly trying to help them.  Jack still held her hand, but his grip was trembling, and she could hear his breaths getting rougher and thinner. The beating that Red Nova was taking was taking a toll on him, and the heat of his fire that was coursing through her to strengthen her was beginning to weaken.  She licked her lips and blinked back tears.

“Lua, please!”

It wasn’t fair.  She was always separated from her brother.  They were both always getting pulled apart, getting kidnapped, having to disappear on each other, having to find each other again.  She just wanted her brother back. She wanted him back so badly: him with his stupid bedhead, his messy eating, his laser focus when he wanted to play video games instead of washing dishes, the stupid way he never learned to tie his shoes.  She just wanted her stupid, obnoxious, loud, heroic brother back! Why wasn’t her voice reaching this time?

 _I’m so tired of being left behind_ , she thought, tears blurring her vision again.   _First dad, and now you.  Why are you always being taken away from me?_

Pixie Veil let out a keen that sounded like her own heart breaking.  

“Lua!”

Her voice broke and came out like a whisper.  She couldn’t do anything. She couldn’t even call his name anymore.  Her legs buckled, and Jack swore, grabbing hold of her by the shoulders.  But he, too, was getting weaker, and he staggered under her weight, dropping to one knee.  Red Nova wilted to the floor, though it struggled to stay in the air. Pixe Veil dove on top of it, like a cat trying to protect a much longer dog, her body arching and teeth hissing.

But the body that was Lua’s just stared at them.

And then, they took a step towards the end of the disk, and began to walk towards the dragons.  Ancient Pixie hissed again, but her body quavered nervously. She didn’t want to hurt Lua, Luka sensed.  Even if they were a threat, they wore Lua’s form, and she didn’t know how to handle it.

Aporia lifted both of their hands, and new lightning rose to their palms.  They reached the end of the disk, and turned their palms forward.

The lightning crackled over Pixie Veil, and the dragon shrieked and convulsed.  Luka felt it, too, her whole body spasming with pain as a scream she couldn’t give air to tried to come out of her lungs.

“Dammit!  Luka! Hang in there!”

Jack could barely speak, he was trembling so badly.  Luka felt limp in his arms, and his own grip was slipping.

“We didn’t want to hurt you,” Aporia said.  “But we need you to come with us. Z-ONE needs you.”

“Fuck you!” Jack said.  “You fucking coward!”

“My voice can’t reach,” Luka mumbled.  “It...it just can’t reach. It can’t reach him this time.”

Jack hugged her tightly as Aporia descended slowly from the disk, dropping through the air as though they were a leaf, and alighting on the ground.  Pixe Veil tried to lift her head, but she only hissed weakly as Aporia walked around the two exhausted dragons, making their way towards Jack and Luka.

They stopped, however, a decent distance off.  They raised both hands towards them, palms up.

“Please,” they said.  “Come with us. We don’t want to hurt you further.  No harm will come to Lua, either.”

“Give him back,” Luka cried.  “Please give him back.”

Lua’s face twisted, and for a moment, she thought perhaps her brother was in there.  But it was just Aporia, making a sad face.

“We don’t like doing it this way either,” they said.  “But it must be done. Z-ONE needs the pieces of the dragon to put the world in order.”

“We’re not going to help you destroy the fucking world,” Jack said.

Aporia frowned, and it looked wrong on Lua’s lips.  Luka shivered. Helplessness flooded through her like a drug, weighing down her limbs.  She’d never been able to do anything. She’d never been able to protect him. Maybe it was okay to just give up.  Maybe there wasn’t another option.

And then a thin, weak voice rose up from the back of the room.

“I...I see him,” Carly gasped, so quiet that Luka almost didn’t hear her.  “I can see him; he’s— he’s a tiny red flame, he’s fighting the light in his body, he’s...he’s trying to get out, he can hear you—”

The words were like an even fiercer drug, burning through Luka’s head all at once.

He could hear her.

He was fighting.

“Lua!” she shouted again, struggling up out of Jack’s arms.  “Lua, I’m here! I’m here!! Don’t give up!”

There was no change in Aporia’s face, but Luka didn’t care; Carly had seen it and she knew it was true!  He was a tiny flame and he was trying to burn bright again, to burn the possession out of him!

Burn...burn it out of him.

Luka inhaled.  She grabbed Jack’s arm.

“Jack,” she said.  “Jack! If you can— if you can get to him, if you can grab him, you can use your fire to power his!  You can help him escape!”

Jack’s eyes widened.  His lips parted. His eyes darted to the small shape; so close, yet so far.  Lightning still crackled around the sides of Lua’s shoulders.

Then Jack squeezed her shoulders.

“I’m going to need cover,” he said.  “Can you handle it!”

Luka reached out to Pixie Veil Dragon, and the dragon lifted her weary head, forcing herself up to her wings with sheer determination.  Pixie Veil let out a cry of defiance.

“Yes,” Luka said, determination turning her bones to steel.  “I can.”

* * *

_Luka!  Luka, I can hear you!  I’m trying to get to you!_

Lua threw his shoulder against the walls of his prison again.  It hurt even though he didn’t have a physical body, but he did it again anyway.

Aporia watched him from behind, sitting in the air with their head on their hand, considering him.

“Why are you so desperate to escape when you plan to die anyway?” Aporia said.

Lua bit back furious tears.  No one was supposed to know that was his plan!  It wasn’t like he had any other choice, anyway! He had the missing heart of the Light, and without it, the Light would go Mad forever, and the ReBalancing could never happen.  And his body wouldn’t be able to handle it when he lost the power that was so integral to his soul, so of course he would die! He...he had already come to terms with that!

“It doesn’t seem like you have.  You seem scared.”

He wished Aporia would shut up.

“It’s okay to be scared of dying.  I was. I think, at least. I don’t have everything of the old Aporia programmed into me, and I don’t remember dying.”

Shut up, shut up, shut up.  He was trying to reach Luka.

“But if you help me and Z-ONE, you won’t have to die, you know.  He doesn’t need the whole Heart to complete the ReBalancing, just the fire from it.  You won’t die if you help him.”

And Z-ONE, whoever he was, would do it wrong.  Lua knew that in his bones; the knowledge that he could sometimes grasp from the Heart within him made him know it was true.  Without the Heart, Z-ONE’s grasp over the Light and the Darkness would spiral away into Madness.

He heard Aporia shift, and in spite of himself, he turned towards them.

Aporia looked...uncomfortable.

“Are you sure about that?” they said.  “Are you positive that’s what will happen to Z-ONE?”

Lua frowned.  Then he nodded.  It was pretty obvious already that Z-ONE, the big baddie of Yliaster, was super infected with not just Light, but Madness-tainted Light.  He’d simply make a bigger mess of things, if he did die immediately upon activating his plan.

Aporia looked pale now.  And Luka could catch glints of their memories, their feelings— worry and fear for Z-ONE.

They really cared about Z-ONE didn’t they?

“He’s as good as God for me,” Aporia said.  “He created me as a program, and as a human— he saved me, saved my life, gave me purpose and meaning, a way to change it all.  Are you positive that his plan can’t work? Will he...will he really die?”

Lua was as close to sure of it as he could be.  Aporia looked horribly shaken, their hands in their lap, shaking slightly.

“But then,” they whispered.  “What other choice is there?”

Lua turned back towards the screen in the wall, where he could see the view through his own eyes where the program was controlling him.  He saw Luka, standing right in the open, her Pixie Veil arrayed over her and light sending rainbows through its wings over Luka’s skin. Lightning crackled towards her, hitting her in the shoulder, and she stumbled.  Lua’s heart caught. But she was back up, eyes alight with determination. She wasn’t giving up. She would never give up on him.

And he wouldn’t give up either.

His hands curled against the edge of his prison.  A fire was growing somewhere in his chest, and he tried to stoke it.  The Light pressed it down, tried to suppress it.

And then Lua felt arms fling around his body from behind, and a hot rush of flames exploded through him from Jack’s burning soul.

Aporia shrieked as the Light burnt away under the rush of crimson flame.  Before they could disappear, however, Lua turned to them, met their eyes with as much determination as he could muster.

“There’s always another choice,” he said.  “You’re just not looking hard enough yet.”

* * *

Judai kept walking.  The edge of his light prison never got any closer, but it made him feel like he was doing something.

 _“You’re only going to wear yourself out,”_ his captor said, sounding as close as they had been before.

“Don’t care,” Judai said.  “I’m going to keep trying until I get out.”

_“Why don’t you want to help me anymore?”_

“News flash, asshole, I never wanted to help you destroy the world.”

His captor hesitated for a moment, and Judai could hear the Light catch, as though it were holding its breath.

 _“Judai,”_ they said, so soft and pleading that Judai stopped walking, his breath catching.  That wasn’t the sound of someone who was trying to keep someone imprisoned. That was the voice of someone’s heart breaking.  And for some reason, Judai shivered to hear his name said that way by them.

“Shut up,” Judai said.  “Lua told me about you. You’re the one who kidnapped him.  You mess with people’s heads.”

_“I don’t want to mess with anyone’s head.  I just want to fix things. I need help.”_

“Kidnapping people isn’t the way to do it!”

_“You wouldn’t listen.  I needed to find a place where you would listen to me.”_

“Well, then, start talking!” Judai said, throwing his arms up in the air with a burst of frustration.  He was angry. He was angry and he felt so incredibly helpless. He hadn’t felt this weak since he’d been a teenager, fresh out of middle school, back when he hadn’t known he’d had powers.  Even then, though, he couldn’t remember feeling this empty inside. No Yubel, no Winged Kuriboh, no hint of his shadow powers. This light burned everything out of him and left him hollow and aching.  “I’m listening, fuckwad! What crazy ass justification do you have this time? Kill hundreds to save billions or some shit like that?”

They didn’t answer for a long, long time.  So long, in fact, that Judai was starting to think they’d left.

Then he felt something cool press against his face, as though invisible hands were being pressed over his eyes from behind.  He wanted to flinch away, but his body was suddenly locked into place, immobile.

 _“Please,”_ they whispered, voice inches from his ear.   _“Let me show you what happened.”_

The cool spot over his eyes warped like a mirage, and suddenly, he was somewhere else.

His body floated immobile over a familiar city: the lights of Neo-Domino flashed and spun; he saw the streaks of D-Wheelers zooming down roads and the flash of headlights from cars.  The city’s roads were completely backed up; it looked like a thousand people were trying to leave the city all at once. Even from here, he could see the flashing lights of police cars, their officers standing on the roof and waving cars down the streets with a flashing baton.

“What’s happening?” Judai said.

_“Ushio warned the Public Security Bureau, and the sight of the city above was enough to convince the rest.  They are trying to evacuate Neo-Domino.”_

Judai couldn’t move, but his vision moved upwards anyway.  His stomach twisted: there was the upside down, ruined Neo-Domino looming overhead.

“You’re showing me something that I already know,” Judai said.

_“No.  You don’t.  Because this isn’t your timeline.  It’s mine.”_

Judai’s vision moved again, as though his mysterious captor were turning his head for him.  What was that? He squinted. He saw...specks. Specks of something, streaking through the sky.  There was a flash of crimson red. And then they zoomed in, as though he’d been moved abruptly towards them.  His eyes widened.

That was Yusei, on the back of Stardust, ducking his head against the dragon’s neck under a blast of silvery fire.  His opponent was a massive hunk of metal, it seemed, flying about as easily as Yusei did with a pair of eerie looking, vaguely humanoid monsters beside it.  Stardust shrieked and let out a burst of starlight from its maw, but it didn’t seem to faze the creatures one bit.

“Yusei!” Judai shouted.  “Yusei!”

_“It’s all right.  This hasn’t happened yet for you.”_

“What are you talking about?”

_“This is the moment where my timeline was born.”_

One of the hulking metal monsters sent out a flurry of golden rings crackling with electricity.  Stardust wasn’t fast enough. It shrieked when the lightning coursed through it, and Yusei screamed.  Judai screamed, too, even if his voice couldn’t reach.

Yusei tumbled back off of Stardust, while the dragon writhed in the air.  Judai’s mouth opened in a silent scream this time, as Yusei’s body streaked down towards the faraway ground.  His body was starting to glow and shimmer, bright, too bright, until it was completely encasing him and obscuring his body from sight.  Stardust!! Stardust catch him!!

But it was too late; by the time the dragon escaped the roiling electricity and managed to angle itself downwards in a steep dive after its fallen master, it was too late.

Yusei’s glowing body struck the faraway ground and Judai’s heart stopped.

For a second, there was nothing.

And then the world exploded with Light.

Judai was yanked back into his prison, choking and gasping.  The cool hands had not left his face.

“What happened?” he gasped.  “What happened to Yusei?”

_“He died.”_

Judai’s blood ran cold.  Oh god. Oh gods, he had to get back to Yusei, he had to find a way out of here, he had to save Yusei!  Was this why he had come back in time? Because Yusei had died that day? How many times had he seen Yusei die?

“But what happened?  That light?”

_“With no living vessel to call home, the Light had to flee.  But it could not be contained in the world it was released into.  The city was destroyed.”_

Judai could barely breathe, like there was a vise clamped around his chest.

_“Let me show you why we had to do what we did.”_

Judai’s vision was transported once again somewhere else.

A horrible crater was burned into the ground, the earth cracked and dry as though a meteor had struck it.  Crumbled remains of burnt out buildings sagged along the edges of the crater. Even from this height, Judai could see, vaguely, the tiny shapes of staggering people, pulling themselves free of the wreckage.

And then the sky swarmed with specks of darkness.  Judai squinted. He saw crowds of survivors gathering, pointing and staring up at the sky.  He was drawn closer, and he could hear people shouting or calling out to each other, trying to find the missing or guess what was there in the sky.

The first beam struck the earth and left a burnt scorch inches from a group of survivors.  Then the Meklords descended.

People screamed and scattered as the vicious robots stormed from the sky, firing off in all directions, heads spinning wildly as their robot bodies seemed to convulse.

“What’s happening?” Judai shouted.

_“The Meklords are Duel Monsters infected with the Light of Destruction from very long ago.  The release of light destabilized the boundaries between the human and Duel Spirits world, and the Meklords were drawn to the echo of the Light.  But the Light already fled, and there is nothing here for them to feed on, so they are going mad.”_

Judai’s stomach twisted.  This was what had happened to Yubel; warped and twisted her desires until she could only desperately seek out what little she know could satisfy her.  And now, everyone was suffering for the Meklords’ wild, desperate rampage as they sought Light they couldn’t capture.

Judai’s vision zoomed in again, and it was as though he were standing on a broken street, watching a small cluster of people from the explosions that rang out over the broken city.

His eyes caught on something familiar: eerily familiar.

A young boy clung to his mother’s hand, father running just behind them both and pushing them along as he looked back over his shoulder.  The boy was young, no older than eleven or twelve, his long red hair flapping against his back.

“Luciano,” Judai gasped.  “He’s...but he was...”

A wild strike of laser crashed over the building over their heads, and a building swayed.  The mother saw it first. With a cry, she grabbed her son by the arm and flung him forwards.  The boy stumbled and hit the ground, rolling and scraping open gashes in his arms.

But he was the lucky one.  As he struggled up to his hands and knees, the building crashed down beside him— taking his parents with it.  The boy simply stared, mouth hanging open, as though he couldn’t believe what had just happened. He struggled forwards on his hands and knees, grabbing at a few small pieces of wreckage and trying to throw them aside.  Then a scream ripped from his throat, a scream that tore Judai’s soul to shreds, and he began to dig furiously with both hands.

_“We were all left alone by the destruction that followed.  Alone with nothing but an unfulfillable wish to retrieve what was lost.”_

The scene warped and changed, and now Judai was in a city he didn’t even recognize.  Smoke rose in plumes over the burning city, shadows of fleeing people running in the wake of the advancing Meklords.  Judai saw tanks battling furiously, but they were too clunky and slow to do more than slow the much faster Duel Monsters, and the military weapons were cut down one by one.

A blur of someone speeding past on a D-Wheeler shot through the chaos.  Judai saw the man skid to a stop and slap cards onto his Duel Disk. A tall, robed magician-like man with a book in arms melted up through the ground, battling back one of the nearest Meklords.  Judai squinted. He was pretty sure he had seen that man on the D-Wheel there before, too. It was right on the tip of his brain...

The magician and the robot struggled for a moment longer as the D-Wheeler tried to summon another handful of monsters to take on the next swarm, waving to a group of survivors to run.  

Then a dazzling beam of light enveloped the city all at once, and when it faded, another awful crater was left behind.  Judai’s stomach twisted.

He felt almost sicker when he saw the D-Wheeler appear, gasping and struggling to pull himself out of the crater.  He stumbled and slipped, but he managed to drag himself over the edge. His visor was cracked in half, and Judai recognized all at once he knew who it was: the suit and helmet were the same as the person who had saved him when he fell from the Dueling Lane while fighting Placido.  But his eyes were Bruno’s.

Bruno laid there, broken and staring at the sky, too shell-shocked to do more than sprawl.  Then the tears came, as he seemed to realize that he hadn’t been able to save anyone.

Something moved, and the man flinched.  Judai would have, too, if he could have moved.  But it wasn’t a Meklord— it was another D-Wheeler.  Something about the shape of the person seemed familiar.  The white D-Wheel was familiar, too: it was the same bike that Paradox had driven when Judai had faced him with Yusei and Yugi.  The mysterious driver definitely wasn’t Paradox, though, he was too thin and dressed in dark, torn clothes.

However, the person seated on the back of the D-Wheel was familiar: it was Luciano again, seated behind the driver and clinging to his back.  He looked significantly older than the last vision, at least fifteen or sixteen, and gangly— actually, he looked a lot like Placido now. All three of them _had_ combined into one robot in the end...

The mysterious D-Wheeler on the front of the bike reached out a hand towards Bruno.  Still crying silently, Bruno reached out and took it.

_“We only had each other in the end.  But we weren’t content with just surviving.  We wanted to find a way to fix it. To do the impossible.”_

The vision changed again.  This time, they were in some shabby looking, makeshift lab, with a bunch of whirring machines that looked like they’d been cobbled together from scraps.  Several cords ran from some of those machines to a chair, where someone was hooked up. Judai couldn’t see their face because there was a cup over their head, but their hands twitched as the wires jolted them slightly.

An even older Luciano, getting gray and growing a beard like his Jose form, leaned over to show something on a small handheld screen to someone else.  Judai swallowed. He knew that person well, too: that was Paradox. The blond haired man frowned as he looked at what Jose had to show him, and shook his head.  Jose frowned.

A much older looking Bruno stood up straight from behind the chair with the other person on it, wiping his brow from the sweat and replacing a wrench on his belt.  The other two looked over at him, sudden worry crossing their faces. Bruno shook his head, looking grim, and the other two paled, Jose’s lips pressing tightly together.  Jose immediately turned back to a beat up looking computer and started typing frantically.

The person in the chair spasmed slightly again, and Bruno braced himself against the back of it.  His body twisted on itself and he began to cough, his whole body rattling.

_“But it took us too long.  And I was deteriorating much faster than I thought I was.”_

The image seemed to fast forward.  There were bits and pieces of clear Meklord technology now, heads strapped and plugged in to computers, arms that were soldered to modems.  The person in the chair had wheels now, and the machine only covered part of their face, revealing half of their mouth and jaw. Their arms moved slightly as they used their fingers to try and move themselves across the room.

Judai couldn’t hear words, but he could see that something was wrong.  Paradox was clearly shouting at an even older looking Jose, who shouted back, his beard bristling.  Bruno was in between them, hands up on either side of them as though he were trying to break up the fight.  The person on the chair wheeled forward, but Paradox turned on them, too, shouting til he was red in the face.  The person in the chair’s lips moved slowly, as though it were difficult to speak, but Paradox just threw up his hands and stormed off.  Bruno ran after him, but he hobbled, and a coughing fit came over him as he tried to pursue, forcing Jose to grab hold of him and support him as best his frail arms could.

Paradox grabbed the white D-wheel in the corner, yanked it to its wheels, and leapt onto it.  Bruno and Jose both tried to move towards him, but they weren’t fast enough. Paradox revved the engine, and bolted— immediately disappearing before he even hit the wall.

_“Paradox grew weary of our patience, and determined to go on his own.  He stole what little we had cobbled, and set us back further. We lost our precious work, and our time was running out.”_

Again, time moved forward.  The person in the chair moved in a small, hovering vehicle, now, still covered except for half of their mouth.  They hovered over what looked like a metal coffin, unreadable except by the way their lips were pressed together.

Inside the metal coffin, beneath a case of glass, was the wrinkled form of Bruno.  A second coffin beside it contained Luciano/Placido/Jose.

_“My friends died.  I was all that remained, but only barely.  We had just enough power to get to the past, but not enough to complete our mission.  We would have to collect energy on the other side.”_

“But you said they were dead,” Judai said, voice shaking.  “They died. How did they...”

He saw the hovering figure turn in the air, towards a screen.  There were wires from the coffins running to the computer, and images appeared on the screen: blueprints, for the Bruno, Luciano, Placido, and Jose that Judai knew from his timeline.

_“I was forced to recreate my friends as programs to assist me.  There was no one else left, and I was still dying, quicker now that Antinomy was no longer alive to maintain my life support.  I couldn’t manage the journey on my own.”_

Judai felt sick.  This was awful. Was this real?  He...if it was real, he almost couldn’t blame them for coming to such desperate measures.  

But he couldn’t let them do what they were planning, either.

“You said you absorbed the Light— you took it after Yusei died?” Judai said. How was that possible?  Yusei was apparently the Light Channel, or something, but how could any other person hold the Light the way this person was managing to do?

_“Yes.  In a sense.”_

“I don’t get it.  You’re not making any sense, you’re just talking in circles!  Just tell me what you want, straight out! Stop showing me this and making me try and guess!”

The images faded, and he was back in the room of light.  The cool space around his eyes faded, and he could move again.  His knees buckled, but he caught himself.

The light wavered like a mirage before him.

 _“The me that caused that future the first time didn’t realize what he was doing.  He needed you, all along._ I _needed you all along.  I was so stupid, pushing you away.”_

“What are you talking about?”

The light wavered again, bubbling.  An image started to fade in from the light: legs, first, and then the outline of hands, and an all too familiar silhouette of shoulders, the dark cut of hair, the gold mark down his face— the eyes he’d recognize anywhere.

Judai took a step back, horror freezing his stomach.

“No,” he said.  “No, Lua told me about this, he told me that you make yourself look like the person you want to see, he told me that you looked like Luka back then—”

The image of Yusei smiled at him, but it seemed distant, hollow.

 _“I could never hide myself from you,”_ Yusei said.   _“And I wouldn’t want to.”_

Judai’s world was closing in around him.

“No,” he choked, tears bubbling in his head.  “No, god, Yusei, it can’t be you, it can’t be you.”

Yusei just kept smiling at him, sadly now.

 _“I’m sorry,”_ he said.   _“I didn’t want to meet you again like this, either.”_


	50. Cassiopeia

Yusei heard the whine of energy gathering behind him, and slammed himself against the wall.  The hallway lit up with the blast that surged right down the middle, where he’d been a moment ago.  His heart clamored against his ribs, but he swallowed it down, and started running again.

Bruno was really trying to kill him, he thought with a panic. It was hard to think about antyhing other than that.  The man he’d spent afternoons talking code with, who’d made the same pan of scrambled eggs every morning, who’d had such a ridiculous dorky, oblivious smile any time he made a joke, was trying to kill him.

He swore.  Fuck this whole goddamn situation!

There was a door at the end of the hallway.  Yusei prayed to any god that still existed that it would open, that he’d have an out.  This hallway was too thin, too cramped; he was too easy of a target. Bearing down, fists clenched, he charged the door and put his shoulder down.  This was going to hurt if the door didn’t give.

He was in luck.  It gave.

The door exploded open beneath his shoulder, still sending a wash of pain through his back that told him he probably dislocated something.  With a furious groan, he grabbed his shoulder with his other hand and wrenched it into place. It snapped back, but not without another wave of paralyzing pain.  

Still, he didn’t have time to wait.  He needed to...

He stopped as he took in the room he’d just entered.  In comparison to the rest of the building he’d explored, this room was  _ massive _ .  He could hardly see the ceiling, or the floor beneath the railing that was a few feet in front of him.  A tangle of tubes filled the space, kind of like a water slide coming out of the side of a waterpark, but with a few less loops.  The tubes ran in a few circles around the room, and then out the other wall. What was this supposed to be?

He heard another whining behind him, and swore.  He turned back to the door and slammed it shut. Perhaps that would buy him a bit of time.  Then he turned back to the overlook that ran off to both sides, looking for another door, something.

Instead, he saw one of the tubes was attached to the overlook, open, leading into what looked like...a dueling lane.  Yusei jogged over to the tube, looking inside. Yes, this was definitely a dueling lane— just inside the tube, in fact, there were a pair of bikes.  One was the one-wheeled bike that Bruno had driven the first day Yusei had met him and before he had known him, back when he had been the man who told him to look for a technique beyond speed.  The other was unrecognizable. It looked old, the siding half peeled off and the paint job needing a touch up. Yusei ran over to it and jiggled the controls. It came to life immediately. Yusei felt his heart skip a beat as he immediately recognized the interface.

This was  _ his _ bike.  This was the Yusei-Go, the one that he’d built to chase after Jack, the one that Rally had named as a joke, the one he’d improved for the WRGP and driven for all of these months.  But this one was  _ old _ .  It looked as though it had been around for decades, with the insides showing in places and dents and scratches in others.  Yusei tickled the keys on the interface and tried to turn it on. Sure enough, it reacted to his passcode, and it hummed to life.  Despite the beat up exterior, a quick look at the readouts told him that it was still very much in working condition.

He heard the door blast open and swore.  He’d have to chance it.

Yusei swung his leg over the bike, settled himself into the worn leather seat, and kicked it into gear.  The D-Wheel pealed out into the tube. He had no helmet, and there was none in the usual compartment he’d keep one, so the wind cut through him and made his hair fly around his eyes distractingly.  He had to hug low to the bike as he guided it around the unfamiliar twists and turns of the tubes, chafing at the slow speed the constant curves forced him into. Over the wind, he could hear the hum of Bruno’s D-Wheel, and knew that he was following.  He swore.

And then the tubes opened up.  Yusei gasped, shading his eyes against the light with one free hand.

He burst out into a long, wide lane.  It was dimmer out here than he had first thought, but much brighter than inside.  His eyes caught on a passing shadow beside him, and a twisting nerves tangled in his stomach.  That was a building— but not just any building. An upside down building. 

All around him, the upside down, ruined shell of Neo-Domino city sent up jagged skeletons of buildings like stalactites hanging down from a charred cave ceiling.  The lanes were, incomprehensibly, built upside down. It was lucky for him, at least, because otherwise, he’d be dead, he thought as he looked through the glass siding of the dueling lane and saw his own sparkling city miles below him.  It was almost as though this lane had been built with this purpose in mind. It was all too perfect: his own, beat up old bike, the upside down lane— it was almost as if he’d done exactly as he’d been expected to.

Another shining blast of energy burst over his head and he only barely swerved out of the way.  Yusei swore. He didn’t want to fight Bruno, but he couldn’t just keep running, either. He’d have to start defending himself.

His Duel Disk was active, but it wasn’t showing any duel data.  He had a feeling this wasn’t going to play out with the rules. And beneath his skin, the roaring fizz of stardust told him that Stardust Dragon was raring to go into battle.  He drew a hand of cards and slid them into the hand slot. He didn’t have the resources for a proper summon chain, but this wasn’t a regulated duel with rules. This was a battle for survival.

“I summon my monsters from my hand!  Debris Dragon, Sonic Chick, Shield Warrior!”

As he had suspected, the disk didn’t present him with an error for summoning multiple monsters in a turn.  In fact, the disk itself didn’t register that he had summoned anything at all. But the holograms, if that’s what they were, appeared alongside him anyway.  Debris Dragon zipped along over his head, shielding him with its tiny wings. Shield Warrior crouched on the back of his bike with shield held up, as though to protect him.  And Sonic Chick led the way, squawking.

Yusei could feel their presence as though they took up actual, physical space, letting off heat and weight.  And, he thought, they were. They were real monsters. The bike’s holographic projector wasn’t running. He didn’t think he was a psychic duelist, but...perhaps there was something more happening to him.

“Thank you,” he whispered to his monsters.  “Will you give me a hand?”

He didn’t hear them make a sound, but he felt it— a deep, burning desire to help.

Yusei smiled, and raised up one hand.

“Clustering wishes will become a new shining star!  Become the path their light shines upon! Synchro Summon!”

The words came easily, like the lyrics of a song, and for the first time, he wondered where the summoning words came from.  He didn’t remember making them up. He just remembered saying them.

In a satisfying fizzle of dazzling light, Stardust appeared from the gates the monsters formed, flashing out its wings with a cry.

“Stardust!  Shooting Sonic!”

With an excited cry, Stardust turned on the pesky little magician behind him, opening its maw to let out a fury of shining light.  The magician immediately melted away, and Yusei looked over his shoulder. Bruno’s bike wobbled, but he kept his course. Yusei could see the wind beginning to break over the tip of his D-Wheel, the way it had the first night they’d met and Yusei had watched him Accel Synchro.  Yusei swore, and picked up the pace.

Bruno caught up with him, though, coming alongside him.  Yusei could barely see him beneath his visor.

“Bruno!” he shouted over the wind.  “Bruno, please!”

“My name is  _ Antinomy! _ ”

Bruno—no, Antinomy—slammed the side of his D-Wheel against Yusei’s and Yusei’s body rattled as his D-Wheel tilted dangerously over.  Antinomy pressed his advantage, slamming into Yusei again and pressing him closer to the glass siding of the dueling lane. Antinomy pulled back to slam Yusei again.  If this kept up, Yusei would be punched right through the lane and he’d fall to the ground.

As Antinomy started to roar towards him again, Yusei slammed his brakes.  Antinomy overshot as Yusei disappeared, hitting the glass wall himself and cracking it as he bounced off and wobbled back onto the lane.  By the time Antinomy had recovered, Yusei had thrown his D-Wheel into gear and burst forward, faster this time.

“I don’t understand why you’re doing this!” he shouted when Antinomy caught up again.  “Bruno!”

“You have to die!” Antinomy said.  “For Z-ONE’s plan to be a success, I have to kill you!”

“Who the hell is Z-ONE?” Yusei swore.

Antinomy pressed another card onto his disk, and the wind began to break around his bike.  Yusei swore and swerved out of the way. Antinomy’s bike pealed past him, faster, faster, faster— he was starting to glow a bright green, the Synchro gates appearing around him.  He was using Accel Synchro. No, gods, more than that, the air was starting to get thick and choked with pressure, the wind around him turning green as though tinted with a dust blowing off of Antinomy’s gates.  Stardust roared with a nervous anticipation, feeling the same ominous pressure as Yusei. This wasn’t just Accel Synchro, this was something else, a power even beyond that.

The air tore as Antinomy blipped out of sight.  Yusei swerved to the side again, just in time before Antinomy reappeared behind him, zooming past him with a monster that Yusei had never seen before.  It was a hulking metallic mass, gold and bronze, a robotic monster wielding a long polearm. 

“T.G. Halberd Cannon, destroy Stardust!” Antinomy cried out.

“Stardust, watch out!”

Stardust dove beneath the dueling lane to escape the polearm, which was beginning to glow with a heat so intense that Yusei could feel it even down here.  Stardust dipped and spun, undulating out of the way of the more bulky monster’s swipes, but Yusei could feel it in his bones— Stardust wasn’t strong enough to beat it.  One hit would be all it would take.

“Who is Z-ONE?!” Yusei shouted again.  “I can’t believe you would kill someone for any reason!  Why are you killing for him!”

Antinomy’s eye flashed into sight for just a moment as the glare passed over his visor, and then his eyes were shaded again.

“Z-ONE is our savior,” Antinomy said.  “He’s our  _ god _ .  The most important person in the world to us.”

Stardust crashed into one of the buildings in its attempt to escape, screeching with pain.  Yusei’s eyes couldn’t tear away from the crumbling building as Stardust limped away. The pieces of the ruined city crumbled into the air, falling away towards the ground.  What happened to this city? How had it become like this? Fear pulsed through both his and Stardust’s chest. This world was a dead one, and he didn’t know how it had died.

_ Fujiwara wanted to kill me, too _ , he thought.   _ But he seemed to think that it would stop this from happening.  Do these people think I need to die, too, to save this world from this?  Is my life what causes this future? _

“Yusei, you care about this world,” Antinomy shouted.  “I know how much you do. If you do, you’ll let yourself die.  You’ll sacrifice yourself for the greater good. You must understand that this has to be done.”

“I don’t understand!” Yusei snapped.  His hands trembled. If he had to sacrifice himself, he knew in his bones he’d do it in a heartbeat.  But he didn’t understand why that, of all things, would save the world. He wasn’t going to throw himself into the fire just because someone told him to.

Stardust roared again, and this time, the sound shook Yusei to his bones.  It was an angry, determined roar, as though in his head Stardust had just screamed at him.   _ We do not go down without a fight. _

He hit the gas, pushing himself faster faster faster.  The air began to break over the tip of his D-Wheel, a cone of air shooting around him.  He couldn’t hear anything, and he couldn’t tell if it was the roar of the wind, or the silence that caused it.

The world squeezed in on him as though he were being pressed through a tiny hole, as though gravity increased on all sides of him.

And then he was through, and Stardust’s scales had melted into a shining, platinum white, its wings had spread and stiffened, and Shooting Star Dragon let out a melodic cry, daring Antinomy’s monster to come after it.

Yusei’s ears popped and then he heard the roar of the road beneath him again, as he drew up on Antinomy once more.  

“I’m not going down easily,” Yusei said.  “Whether I have to die or not, I’m not letting you destroy an entire city!”

“Acceptable damages happen for the greater good,” Antinomy said harshly.

“I won’t accept that!  I’ll save everyone; I won’t let anyone be a sacrifice!”

Antinomy only glared.

“You’re a goddamn fool, Fudo Yusei,” he said.  “You’re a goddamn fool.”

* * *

“You’re lying!” Judai spat, head spinning.  “You told me he died! You told me Yusei died in your future!  You can’t be Yusei!”

Yusei sighed, his eyes softening.  Then he reached for Judai again, and Judai scuttled back.  Yusei was faster than him, though, taking Judai by the wrists and tugging him closer.  His grip was so light but firm, just like the real Yusei’s hands, and for a moment, Judai was so shocked that he let himself be pulled forward.

But then the grip started to burn with an ungodly heat from the Light that made up his body, and Judai almost screamed.  He tried to yank away, but the fake Yusei’s hands were firm, and he pulled Judai into his arms, gently pushing the back of his head to push his face into his shoulder.  The Light burned into Judai’s eyes, and then his eyes were seeing another place again.

He was hovering over the ruins of Neo-Domino again, staring down at the crater beneath.  Then he zoomed in, close to the ground, and his stomach twisted. Had he been in control of his body, he was sure he would have thrown up.  He tried to avert his gaze from the twisted, crumpled form of what had been Yusei left in the center of the crater where he had fallen.

“Yusei!   _ YUSEI!” _

He choked, hearing his own voice break through the haze of smoke and debris from the explosion.  A racking cough echoed as a figure stumbled through, waving his hand back and forth in front of his face. 

“Oh my god, no, Yusei, Yusei, Yusei—”

Another version of Judai himself appearing, staggering through the debris.  His face looked ashen, streaked with dust and smoke. His jacket was gone, his tank top torn, his jeans ragged.  His eyes widened with absolute horror when he saw Yusei.

“Yusei!  Yusei! Oh my god, no, you didn’t— you can’t be—”

Judai watched helplessly, watching himself stagger forward, disbelieving, as horrified as he himself was now.  The past— future? — Judai stumbled forward, and collapsed to his knees at Yusei’s side. A ragged cry tore out of his throat.

“No!  I— I cushioned it!  I should have— I should have cushioned it!  The shadows should have— Yusei! Yusei, wake up!!”

Desperate hands grabbed for Yusei’s shoulders, but Yusei’s body was broken, hanging limp in Judai’s arms as he pulled him against his chest.  Tears ran streaks down the dust coating his cheeks, his teeth bared in a desperate grimace that he tried to keep the scream contained behind. He pushed Yusei’s hair away from his face with shaking fingers, pressed the pads of his finger against the mark on his face.

“No, please, wake up, you have to wake up,” Judai gasped.  “Please! Please!”

He put his hand against Yusei’s chest and pushed, as though he could bring him back to life by pressing his heart back into motion.  Shadows writhed around Judai, desperate, clawing things that tugged at the hem of his shirt and slithered about Yusei’s mangled legs.

“Wake up,” Judai gasped.  “Wake up, wake up, wake up—”

He pressed his hand against Yusei’s chest again and again— but this time, something was happening.  The shadows were twisting up his arms, crawling down to his hands, slithering beneath his palm. With every pump, Judai was pumping shadow into Yusei’s chest— it seemed to slide off of Yusei like oil off of water, but something was happening.  His body was starting to shudder. There was a horrible snap sound and then one of his legs was back together.

“Oh my god,” the Judai watching whispered.  “What’s happening?”

The other Judai continued to pump.  Yusei’s body continued to shudder and spasm under his hands, over and over and over again, until— 

He inhaled.  His eyes flew open.

“Yusei!” Judai screamed.  “Oh my god, Yusei—”

There was a scream.  Judai’s eyes shot up. 

The sky was swarming with Meklords.  

Judai swore, clutching Yusei to his chest, eyes wide and wild with panic.

“Judai!!” 

He jerked his head over his shoulder, and in the distance, a ragged Jack was waving both arms.

“This way!” he shouted.  “Bring him!”

Judai shuddered, but he scooped Yusei’s shuddering, barely living body up into his arms, and ran at a stumble towards Jack.

The scene faded out into light again, and Judai was once more in the grip of the future Yusei.

_ “You saved my life,” _ he said.   _ “You brought me back.” _

“How did I?” Judai said, feeling horrified.  He wasn’t sure if it was at the fact that he had just seen Yusei’s dead body as clearly as though it were right in front of him, or because he’d watched himself bring someone back to life.  “That’s...I can’t...”

_ “I don’t know.  The powers of Light and Darkness are mysterious.  Perhaps it was fate that brought us together, because it knew that you would be able to save me.  Light and Darkness could become whole again, with the two of us.” _

Judai tried to struggle free of Yusei’s grip, but Yusei held firm.  The light faded out again into another scene.

It happened in a blur of smoke and images that Judai couldn’t quite comprehend.  He saw familiar, or almost familiar dragons soaring through the sky. A white version of Aki’s Black Rose Dragon cut vines through a line of Meklords, shielding a fleeing group of survivors.  Jack carried a limp Lua over his shoulder, clinging to Luka’s hand while Red Nova shielded them from the lasers up above. Judai stumbled along, still carrying Yusei, Crow pushing his back to help him go faster.

Then things faded.  The smoke cleared. The ragged group stumbled along into unfamiliar territory, and in the memory, it seemed to pass much quicker than it actually did.  The ruins of the city and roads began to fade instead into warm red stone and canyons, and then, they were somewhere that Judai had never seen before, a Western looking down with a worn out sign that said  _ Satisfaction Town _ in English lettering.

A man Judai had never seen ran to meet the group, looking as pale as his silver hair.  He hurried them inside, eyes up at the sky. There was a plume of smoke raising up from somewhere.

“It’s not safe here either,” he heard the man say, once the memory had changed to the group huddled in a small, worn out little house.  “I don’t know where they came from, but they attacked the mines, and collapsed half the tunnels. We only just managed to push them back.”

The silver haired man looked desperately at the others.

“What’s happening?” he said.  “And what’s wrong with Yusei?”

Judai’s stomach twisted.  He saw himself, again, curled in a ball with his face pressed against his knees.  Beside him, Yusei sat in a chair: but there was something wrong. His chest rose and fell, mouth open slightly, but besides that, he didn’t move.  His hands laid in his lap, unmoving, and he stared at nothing. When Aki walked over to brush hair from his cheeks, he didn’t even blink.

“I don’t know,” the memory Judai mumbled.  “I don’t know what I did.”

For a while, no one spoke.  The Signers looked so small and broken in that tiny room.  And, Judai thought with a nervous terror, he didn’t see any sign of Lua in this memory.

Before he could try to voice a question, a scream broke through the window, and all of them flinched as one.  An explosion rang out, and the silver haired man swore, grabbing what looked like a pistol and bolting out the door, with Crow, Jack, and Aki on his heels.  Luka didn’t move, hugging herself and staring at the floor. Judai didn’t move either, looking almost as dead as Yusei.

“Move,” Judai whispered to his memory self, heart trembling.  “Move, damn you, don’t just sit there and let them die.”

But the memory altered once again.  Judai’s stomach immediately twisted.

Sparks flew up from the tool Crow was using to solder what looked like two halves of a Meklord’s arm together.  The wires ran from the machine up to...to Yusei, seated in a chair. There was a metal piece attached to his head and covering half his forehead and one eye, clearly more remains from a Meklord welded to his face.  Judai stood over him wringing his hands while Crow worked. Crow sighed and turned off the tool, pushing his helmet back.

“I don’t know if this is going to work,” he said.  “This is...we’re messing with some shit here.”

He looked so tired, with deep circles under his eyes.

“We might not get him back,” he said.  “And even if we do...what then?”

“He was supposed to be the Light,” Judai mumbled.  “If we can get him back, then maybe we can fix this...”

The memory Judai clutched at his chest then, and stumbled.  Crow swore. He leaped to his feet and caught Judai by the elbows to support him, but Judai batted him back, standing away.  It was just in time, too, before Judai’s shadow began to warp and writhe like a living thing, snatching at Crow’s feet. Judai convulsed and heaved, and then he was throwing up. 

It wasn’t normal vomit, though...it was a slippery, slimy glob of viscous oil, which began to fade as soon as it hit the floor.  Judai convulsed again, and then doubled over, clutching his stomach.

“Fuck,” he said.

“Is it getting worse?” Crow said.

“There’s too much Light wild and loose in the world, and I think— I think I used too much of Darkness bringing him back,” Judai gasped.  “I can’t separate myself from Darkness anymore. And with Light the way it is...Darkness is feeling it too.”

Judai shuddered in place.  Crow swore.

“If only Aki...” he started, but then Judai looked pale and on the verge of tears, and Crow shook his head, looking strained.

“Crow,” Judai whispered.  “Please. I feel like we’re running out of time.”

The present Judai tried to force himself out of these visions, but Yusei held him tightly within them.  He didn’t didn’t want to see this. He didn’t want to see this!

Yusei sat in a chair, his face half covered in metal, wires running from his arms to a machine beside him.  His one visible eye stared at nothing. He was like an empty shell, with nothing inside it. Judai was trying to feed him what looked like soup, pushing the spoon between his lips with a shaky hand, looking even paler this time. Crow was fiddling with the makeshift laboratory, swearing.

And then the door exploded.

Both young men flinched and swore, but neither of them were fast enough.  The Meklord crashed through the wall, head spinning as though it were going haywire.  One of its laser arms pointed out randomly and started to fire.

Judai threw himself over Yusei to try to shield him, and Crow launched himself forward, Duel Disk activated.  Another explosion, and the room filled with smoke and dust. Judai could hear himself coughing, heard Crow letting out a cry and the Meklord screeching— 

And then, the smoke faded.

The Meklord sagged.  It’s arms lay limp at its sides, and its head stayed in one place.  The glass eye spun once and seemed to zoom in.

The present Judai stared with awe and fear at what had stopped it.

Yusei was standing up from his chair, his eye clear for the first time.  He had one hand held up, in a stopping motion— and the Meklord seemed to be obeying.  The memory Judai stared at Yusei, open mouthed.

“Get out,” Yusei commanded.

The Meklord hummed, almost nervous.  But then it backed out of the broken down wall, and left.

Yusei wobbled on his feet, then.  Judai swore and jumped to catch him, and Yusei sagged into his arms.

“Yusei, Yusei, Yusei,” Judai whispered, over and over, tears in his eyes.

“Judai,” Yusei mumbled back, touching Judai’s cheek with a weak hand.  “What happened...? Where is...”

He tried to focus his one visible eye.  Judai gripped him tightly, crying for a moment against his chest.

But then he seemed to remember something, jolting straight up.

“Judai?  Where are...where is everyone?  I thought I heard...Crow...?”

Judai’s eyes flashed to the broken entry.  His face grew slightly green, and as Yusei tried to turn his head, Judai pulled him against him to stop him from looking.

“I’m sorry,” Judai gasped.  “I’m so sorry! I couldn’t protect them, I couldn’t protect anyone!”

Yusei lay limp in Judai’s arms, lips parted.  He didn’t seem like all of him had returned yet.  

If there was anything left of him to return at all.


	51. Hydra

Shooting Star dove at T.G. Halberd Cannon, catching at it with its claws, but it barely sent up sparks.  It only barely spiraled out of the way of another sweep of its burning polearm, and Yusei swore. Even Shooting Star wasn’t strong enough to fight Antinomy’s monster.  He didn’t know if he had any other options— without Judai, how could he summon anything else, like Hourglass or Echo of Brilliance? 

Antinomy’s D-Wheel drove up alongside Yusei’s again.  Before Yusei could react, he slammed into Yusei’s side again, and this time, Yusei spun out.  He swore, hearing something pop in the old broken down bike, seeing a flare of sparks out of the corner of his eye that he wasn’t sure if it was coming from the metal screeching across the concrete, or if something in the inner workings of the bike was exploding.  

He righted himself with effort, but he had fallen far behind Antinomy this time, and he heard Shooting Star scream.  A burning pain assaulted him in the chest and he cried out, doubling over the handlebars. 

When he managed to get a hold of himself from the pain, he looked up again through eyes blurred with tears to see Shooting Star limping through air away from T.G. Halberd Cannon, a massive, glowing gash running down the whole of its front.  It still spun and dodged away, but much slower this time— it would only take one strike to finish it off. He had to use its effect; multiple attacks might throw it off!

Yusei reached for his deck to start turning it over for Tuners.

His D-Wheel rocketed back again as Antinomy crashed into him from the front this time.  The front end of the bike crumpled and Yusei almost went flying over the handlebars. It was sheer luck that he managed to cling on.

He ripped the D-Wheel out of the way and hit the gas, ignoring the fact that there was siding hanging off the front now waving in the wind.  This was his bike, somehow, and he’d built it well, he trusted it to hold together!

“Stop trying!” Antinomy shouted at him over the wind, pulling alongside him again.  “You’re only making this worse for yourself!”

“I’m not giving up!” Yusei shouted back.  “There are people waiting for me, people I need to protect!  I won’t abandon them!”

“This city has to die!”

“I won’t let it!  I’ll take my last damn breath before I let a single person die!  Before I let this goddamn Z-ONE bastard hurt a single one!”

Antinomy glared at him through his visor.

“You change your tune,” he said.

“No, I won’t!”

“That wasn’t a prediction, Fudo Yusei, that was a fact,” Antinomy said.  “Surely you must have realized it by now.”

Yusei’s mouth turned dry.  He felt his own D-Wheel humming underneath him, the old thing clearly decades older than the bike he had surely thought he left behind on the ground.  He remembered seeing Z-ONE for the first time in that white world, the feeling of someone walking over his own grave. “Light Channel,” Darkness had called Yusei.  “Like it’s made out of the Light of Destruction itself,” Judai had said of the lead figure of Yliaster, the one who must be this Z-ONE.

“I won’t...I won’t let any of this happen,” Yusei said weakly.

“You’re the reason it’s happening,” Antinomy said.  “You’ve always been the reason, Yusei. And you know it already.”

Oh god.  Yusei felt sick.  No, it was making too much sense, now, but he couldn’t— he couldn’t wrap his mind around it, couldn’t make it make  _ sense _ .

“Fudo Yusei, you  _ are _ Z-ONE.”

No.  No no no no no no.  

“You, the future you, have already put these events in motion.  You’re the sole cause of this. You built me, and Aporia. You drove Paradox to flee to the past and attempt to kill Duel Monsters at its source.  You built the Circuit, and pulled Neo-Domino across time and space to fold time over itself. You’re the one who decided that the only possible course of action was to destroy Neo-Domino, or risk the entire world’s fate.   _ You  _ made that choice.”

“Shut UP!” Yusei shouted.  “Shut up! Shut up! I didn’t!  I wouldn’t do that! I’d never do that!”

“Time makes fools of us all,” Antinomy said, quietly, yet somehow still audible over the wind.

Panic crashed through Yusei’s chest.  No, he wanted to refute Antinomy, wanted to deny what he was saying, but he could feel it.  He remembered the stab of pain he’d felt in the hallway just a bit before, like the feeling of one of his fellow Signers in danger, but unable to tell who it was.  It must have been— it must have been himself, a second person with the Dragon’s Head in this timeline, and he’d...oh god. Oh fucking god. He knew what Antinomy was saying was true, but he couldn’t— he wouldn’t— accept it.

“I would never— I would never...decide...this,” Yusei said, voice choking.

Overhead, Shooting Star let out a broken, whining keen.

“Wait,” he said, gasping.  “Wait! If I’m Z-ONE, why are you trying to kill me?”

Antinomy narrowed his eyes at Yusei.

“There’s not enough room in one timeline for two Dragon’s Heads,” he said.  “And Z-ONE is going to need all of the power of Light to bring about the ReBalancing.  What Light is in you won’t leave you until your body perishes.”

Yusei’s grip on his handlebars loosened.  

He was Z-ONE.

He was the reason this was happening.  He was the one who’d caused all of this.  The experiments with Light and Darkness. The deaths of Sherry’s parents.  The warping of time and space, the impending doom of his beloved city. He was the reason for all of it.  What had he been fighting for all this time? What had he been even trying to do? Had it all been a waste of time?  Just to lead him to a place where he would decide to come back in time and destroy everything?

His hands slipped almost off of the handlebars.  Perhaps...perhaps if this was what he had decided after so many years...perhaps his future self knew what he was doing.  Or maybe, just maybe, if he died here...he couldn’t become Z-ONE. Time would have to revert back to a place where perhaps, Yusei simply didn’t exist.  Perhaps that would be the best course of action. Perhaps he should just let Antinomy kill him. His eyes slowly slid shut, wind buffeting his face even still.

Shooting Star let out a loud scream.  It wasn’t one of pain, or fury, or the anticipation for battle.  It shook Yusei down to his bones, through his heart, made every bit of him shudder from the head to his toes.  He couldn’t put a name to the emotion the sound entailed: something between rage, anguish— and a fiery, burning determination.

_ Don’t you dare give up _ , Shooting Star seemed to be saying.   _ Don’t you ever dare stop fighting.  We have never stopped fighting. _

Yusei opened his eyes.  The wind roared past his face, blowing his bangs around his eyes.  He couldn’t see anything, for a moment, but the blur of the wind in his eyes, the blur of light and shadow and the world speeding all around him.  Couldn’t hear anything but the peaceful cry of the wind that carried him forward while bufferting him back all at once.

Wisps seemed to form in the air, more in his imagination than in the wind itself.  He saw...faces. Faces of the people he knew. He saw Johan, Manjoume, Shou, Asuka.  He saw Sherry, and Mizoguchi. The teams he’d faced in the WRGP. He saw Aporia’s three faces, Antinomy’s two.  Then Carly, Jack, Crow, Aki, Luka, Lua. Then...Judai.

His hands slid back around the handlebars.  He inhaled once. Exhaled slowly.

“Even so,” he said, so quietly, that no one but him and the wind would hear.  “Even so, I can’t give up.”

He tightened his grip now, bearing down on the D-Wheel— his D-Wheel, the bike he’d put together with his own hands, with his friends surrounding him, the D-Wheel that had seen a thousand winds and battled a thousand battles alongside him, carried him alongside the people he loved.

“Even if that’s what I’m destined to become, I’ll fight it,” Yusei said.  “Because they’re waiting for me— because everyone is there for me! And I have to get back to them!  I have to fight for them and with them! I won’t, for even a second, stop believing in them!”

He felt a heat crackling under his skin.  The wind was growing wilder, faster, he couldn’t see the road anymore because it was blurring so quickly.

“I don’t care if that’s who I became!” he shouted into the wind.  “I will control my own destiny! And I will never stop fighting for all of them!”

Everything burned.  It didn’t hurt, though, it was like stepping into a sweltering summer heat, the kind of heat that melted everything away and burned away every bit of freezing cold still left in your body from the long, hard winter.  A cry ripped from his throat, only matched by Shooting Star’s shrieking battle cry. The wind was beginning to spiral, to glow with a brilliant, dazzling light.

_ Judai _ , he thought.   _ Everyone.  Please. Lend me your strength. _

There was light wrapped around his arms when he raised one hand up towards the wind, reaching for a hand that wasn’t there.  But he imagined it was, grabbing hold of Judai’s hand as he smiled cross eyed at him. He was going to go back. He wasn’t going to lose himself.  He was going to live.

His back burned with the beautiful warmth of the Signers’ marks becoming one.  Shooting Star buzzed with excitement as the wind tightened once more, forcing Yusei through a tight, gravity intensified space.

And then he was through.

He could see  _ color _ .  Everything around him glowed faintly like it was a prism, sending facets of rainbow all around him.  His own skin was like crystal, scattering light in all directions around him. He felt hot and cold all at once, but then it settled to a perfect coolness that curled under his skin.

Overhead, the dazzling length of Echo of Brilliance shone, long feathered wings spread overhead, white feathers edged with hints of crimson red like cut rubies.

“Yusei!” Antinomy shouted.  “Don’t stop now!”

Yusei felt like he was on fire in the best way possible.  Antinomy spun around, driving backwards. His T.G. Halberd Cannon shot from beneath the dueling lane, polearm swinging.  Echo of Brilliance sang, spreading its wings to meet the attack.

Yusei jerked his hands up.  The light that exploded from Echo of Brilliance’s feathers shone from his own fingers, too.  T.G. Halberd Cannon, however, did not stop. It barreled right into the light as it crashed forward in a torrent, like a burst of waves crashing down a tunnel.

For a moment, then, the world was only white.  For a moment, the world was silent.

And then, Yusei’s D-Wheel began to slow to a stop.  The light faded, from the air, and from his own skin, sliding back beneath him.  He could breathe normally again, but he still felt alight, like there were fireflies crawling under his skin.  Echo of Brilliance still flew above him. Its long body undulated like a snake’s in the air, as graceful as though it were made of the wind itself.

It was only then that Yusei saw the wreckage.  His heart froze.

Yusei hit the brakes, skidding the bike to a shrieking stop.  He leapt from it before it had even fully stopped, running at a full tilt towards the smoking wreckage.  He stumbled twice, almost going face first to the concrete due to his legs not having adjusted to the ground yet.

“Bruno!” he shouted.  “Bruno!”

Oh god.  He had...had he...?

He stumbled to the wreckage of Antinomy’s bike, and slowed.  His heart hammered, his skin grew clammy with sweat, and he grabbed for the bike, heaving it back.

Antinomy was beneath it, laying face up and staring at the sky.  He shuddered slightly when Yusei lifted the bike off of him— still alive.

“Bruno!  I mean— Antinomy...”

Yusei dropped to his knees beside him.  His stomach twisted: Antinomy was broken.  Half of his torso had been shorn clean off, attached only by a few stray wires.  Tubes and wires frayed out of his insides instead of guts, his arm was twisted and mangled and metal shards poked free of his riding suit.  His visor was cracked open, so that only one eye was still covered.

Those familiar gray eyes flicked towards him, and, to Yusei’s surprise, he cracked a smile.

“It’s all right,” he said hoarsely.  “You can call me...Bruno...if you want.”

He coughed, and smoke came out between his lips.  Yusei swore. He didn’t know what to do, and his hands hovered over Bruno uselessly.

“That’s...that’s what the human I was based off of was called,” Bruno mumbled.  “D-Don’t cry, Yusei. Bruno died a long time ago. M-my time, at least. He’s...p-probably still alive in this timeline so far.  Y-you can go meet him and befriend him for real this time.”

“Fuck, Bruno, I already did befriend you,” Yusei said, his eyes blurring with tears.  “I...I already did. It was real. It was real after all, wasn’t it?”

“Mm.....mostly, I guess,” Bruno said.  He coughed up more smoke.

“How much of this fight were you faking?” Yusei said, voice choked.

“M-most of it,” Bruno said.  “I...I had to...push you.”

“I don’t understand,” Yusei said.

Bruno coughed again, and Yusei pulled the visor away from his eyes, smoothed away his hair.

“You...you needed a push,” Bruno said.  “To accept the Light. You...you feel it, don’t you?  Your power?”

Yusei looked down at his own hands.  Even through his gloves, he could see the faint glow that his skin gave off.  He felt pleasantly cool, too, like his blood was running with coolant.

“You didn’t need to do this,” he said.

Bruno shook his head.  He reached for Yusei with his good arm, gripping his arm lightly.

“Listen,” he said.  “I wanted...I wanted to follow you to the ends of the Earth.  I believed in you. Bruno did, too, but Antinomy...I was made to believe in you.  L-Light stole me away, though. To help  _ this _ you instead.  I think...I think it knew that I’d come to the conclusion that I did.”

“What’s that?” Yusei said, putting his hand on top of Bruno’s.

Bruno smiled, his teeth smudged with oil.

“I care about the Yusei from my time,” he said.  “But something went wrong. You lost yourself. And...and the you right in front of me...I like this one.  I think you...I think you’re more right than he is.”

Bruno coughed again, shaking what remained of his robotic body.

“I just killed you,” Yusei said.  “I don’t think— that’s not any better than the other me.”

Bruno laughed, spitting up a bit of oil.

“Yusei, I was dying anyway,” he said.  “My code wasn’t...made to last much longer than this.  My program was breaking up.”

He squeezed Yusei’s arm.

“Listen,” he gasped.  “You’re going...going to need Judai.  Y-You’re out of balance right now, trying to get your legs under you with your power.  You can’t control the strength. But the two of you, together— you’ll be okay.”

Yusei blinked back tears.

“I can’t leave you.”

“You can, and you will,” Bruno said.  He gave Yusei another faint smile. “Promise me just one thing.”

“What is it?”

“Please...save him.  Save your other self.  He...he’s lost his way.  Maybe you can guide your own self back to a peaceful end, at the very least.”

Yusei squeezed Bruno’s hand on top of his arm.

“I promise,” he said, tears rolling down his cheeks.  “Bruno, I promise.”

Bruno’s smile didn’t move, as though his face were stuck that way now.  His eyes were starting to roll and spasm a bit, his fingers twitching. Bits of his body let off whizzes of steam.

“I believe in you,” he said.  “I always have. Goodbye, Yusei.  Thank you for everything. Both of you.”

His eyes slowly stopped rolling, and the irises flattened, pupils shrinking until they had disappeared, leaving behind only blank gray irises.

Yusei stayed for a breath, hand over Bruno’s.  Gently, he pried the android’s fingers from his arm, and laid his hand at his side.  He closed Bruno’s eyes, and averted his own from the mangled mechanical mess that was the bottom half of his body.

“Thank you,” he whispered.  “Goodbye.”

He stood on shaky legs.  His eyes lifted up to the dragon that now lighted on the edge of the glass wall of the lane.  It stared down at him with large, shining yellow eyes, the color of the sky at dawn.

“Let’s go,” Yusei said.  “We need to get to Judai.”

The dragon dipped its large head towards him in a bow.  Then, as smoothly and silently as the wind, it leaped towards him.  He opened his arms, and in a gentle whirlwind, the dragon spiraled into a mote of mist that sucked into Yusei’s chest, and spread out from his heart.  He put his hands over the place where the dragon had entered him, feeling a coolness spreading from its light-filled form. It felt very right, he thought.  He felt strong.

He turned back towards the far away complex at the other end of the dueling lane.

There, he thought.  Judai would be waiting for him there.

And so would himself.

* * *

The darkness was soothing.  It was soft and warm, gentle, like she were being cradled, rocked to sleep.

But she couldn’t rest, because she knew something was wrong.  Something was missing, it was like there was a hole chipped out of her chest, as though she herself were fractured along the edges, broken off the stone she’d once been a part of.  If only her brain would function, she could figure out...could figure out...what she was missing...

Yubel’s eyes opened, but the darkness didn’t change.  She felt her body cradled in the shadows, like a soft ocean that lapped around her limbs and wings.  She opened her mouth and tried to speak, but the darkness swallowed up any sounds. 

_ Judai, _ she thought.   _ Judai, where are you? _

She tried to move, but found she didn’t have the strength.  It was though she’d forgotten how to work her body, like her limbs were too long and bulky somehow.

**_My goodness.  I didn’t realize you had ended up here._ **

The voice echoed all around her, from everywhere, and she shivered.  Darkness.

**_Indeed.  That is who I am.  I’m surprised you made your way here on your own._ **

Yubel tried to get air in her lungs to speak— but realized, then, that there was no air in Darkness’s world.  She needed to rearrange her thinking.

After a few moments, she managed to get words from her lips.

“How did I get here?” she said.

**_By accident, even?  Let me see._ **

There was a silence, then, and Yubel could only lay there, waiting.  She was at the mercy of this massive, dark being, and it should have scared her.  Instead, she felt like she was at home, despite the weakness in her body.

**_I see.  Judai’s been taken by Light._ **

Yubel flinched.  Oh god. Judai! She had to get back to him, she had to protect him from that horrible, burning pain before it killed him, or worse, warped him beyond recognition, as it had her.

**_Peace, child.  Judai is safe, for now.  He has you to thank for that._ **

“I don’t understand,” she croaked.

**_Judai’s body could not handle the Light of Destruction; he would have died almost instantly upon being exposed to the other’s Madness.  But you, instinctively, took Judai’s powers with you, and fled here._ **

Judai’s powers?  She tried to sense them out, and was surprised to find a heavy haze of darkness under her skin.  She couldn’t quite manipulate it, as the power wasn’t hers, but Darkness was right: she had Judai’s Darkness with her.

**_He’s powerless, but he won’t die_ ** **.**

“I have to get back to him,” Yubel said, struggling up.  “I have to somehow help him escape.”

**_I agree.  Light’s Madness is growing stronger by the moment.  I will not have enough power to begin this loop again for the two of you, this time.  This is your last chance._ **

Yubel felt the darkness curl around her arms, lifting her gently to her feet.  She could move again, now, and she stretched her wings to try and get blood circulating again.  It had been a long time since she’d had a separate, physical body of her own, and it felt odd. She had ghost sensations of what Judai’s body felt like, and for a moment she stumbled, thinking her body was smaller than it actually was and being thrown off balance.

“How do I return?” she said.  “How do I get to Judai without the Light killing him?”

**_He must find Yusei, the Yusei of his own time.  Yusei is the only one who can hold the true Light within him, and grant each other protection from each other’s Madness._ **

“But...how do I find my way out of here?”

The Darkness shifted for a moment.  And then, among the shadows, there was another shape there, and Yubel tensed.  Was the the form of Darkness?

The man turned around, and met her eyes with his own clear violet.

“I can show you the way out,” Fujiwara said.  “But please— take me with you. I need to talk to Judai.”


	52. Pegasus

Yusei’s legs felt like lead by the time he finally made it back to the complex, dragged himself through the tubes, and made it back inside the building.  Unfortunately, his D-Wheel had sputtered out of life halfway back, and he’d had to walk. Each second he spent struggling back felt like an hour, the panic of time passing far too quickly overtaking him.  He felt like an hourglass was going in his head, the sand running down through his blood, slowly running out of time.

He didn’t go back the way he had come once he stumbled back onto the overlook, even though that was where he had lost Judai.  He had a feeling the only way to go was forward. He needed to find the others. He needed to find Judai.

He walked, instead, down the opposite direction, using the railing to pull himself along.  Despite the light that swirled in his heart, he still felt exhausted and weak.

Luckily, he didn’t have to walk much farther.  There was another door farther down the wall, and dragged himself over to it.  It was unlocked, and it fell open at his light touch. Instead of a room or a hallway, he looked out into what almost seemed like a large lobby.  This one, however, was actually upside down with the rest of the building, unlike the other rooms, which had been turned so that they looked the right-side up to Yusei.

It was eerie, he thought, looking up.  There was a large desk and bookshelves up on the ceiling, and though they didn’t appear to be bolted down, they hadn’t fallen.  Even the books sat neatly in their shelves, clinging to the bottom of the shelf. Instead of the building being upside down, Yusei felt like his own gravity had simply shifted, and that he was the one who was wrong-side up.

Another door opened on the other side of the room, and Yusei tensed.

But it was no enemy, he saw with a burst of relief, seeing Aki’s haggard face and Crow’s mussed hair appear in the doorway.  Aki’s eyes widened when she caught sight of Yusei— and immediately, she was bolting across the room. He stumbled to meet her, but she reached him faster, grabbing hold of him in a tight, furious hug.

“Oh my god,” she said.  “It’s you, right?”

It was a strange question, but Yusei grabbed hold of her back, thankful for the feeling of someone solid, a friend to grab hold of and ground himself after the hours in this crazy adventure he’d spent on his own.

“It’s me,” he said, hearing how ragged his own voice sounded.  “It’s me.”

Aki popped back then, and grabbed hold of his face, glaring at him as she turned his face back and forth to check for wounds, then began to poke and prod at his shoulders to make sure he was in one piece.

“I’m fine, I’m fine,” he insisted.

Crow looked pale when he finally stumbled over to them, looking as exhausted as Yusei felt.  He grabbed Yusei’s arm when Yusei reached for him, and dragged him into a hug of his own. They gripped each other’s shoulder’s for a moment, and then broke apart.

“Are you both okay?” Yusei said.

“Crow’s lucky to be alive,” Aki said, shooting Crow a look.

Crow just shrugged helplessly at Yusei’s worried glance.

“I’m all patched up, no worries,” Crow said, patting his stomach.  “Anyway, Yusei, we need to tell you something—”

A third door crashed open, this one from the wall near them.  A flushed Jack put his leg down from where he had clearly kicked the door open, hefting a very tired looking Lua higher on his back.  Yusei’s heart fluttered with relief seeing them make their way through. Carly and Luka were there, too, Carly holding onto Luka’s hand.  One of Luka’s pigtails had come out and her hair was a bedraggled mess, but she stumbled along after an equally tired-looking Carly. Jack saw them first, and immediately made a beeline for them.

“Good, no one fucking died,” he said, eyes flashing around.  “Wait.”

His eyes narrowed as he seemed to count heads once more.

“Where’s Judai?” Carly asked as she hurried over with Luka.

Everyone looked at Yusei with varying shades of worry.  Yusei felt his stomach drop.

“We got separated,” he said.  “We’ll have to find him.”

Aki swore.  She gripped Yusei’s arm again, then, looking faintly panicked.

“Yusei, Sherry told us something,” she said.  “About our enemy. You need to know.”

Yusei knew, then, exactly what Aki needed to tell him.

“That I’m Z-ONE, right?” he said softly.

Aki’s eyes widened.  For a moment, nerves skittered over her face.

“It’s okay.  It’s the past me, not the other one,” Yusei said.  “The future one isn’t in as good of shape right now.”

“What on earth are we talking about?” Jack demanded.

“Sherry said that the leader of Yliaster is Yusei,” Crow said.  “Not this one— a future one. Something makes Yusei go crazy in the future, I guess.”

Luka stared at Yusei wide, disbelieving eyes.

“That’s ridiculous!” Jack said.  “I’ve never heard anything more stupid in my entire life!”

“It’s true,” Yusei said, feeling his chest squeeze.  “Bruno...he told me. He was working for him before his memories were scrambled.  He...he wants me to save myself.”

It was weird, trying to talk about it in the open.  He didn’t know how to quite wrap his words around the idea.  He was their own enemy. He was the one who’d turned into a monstrous machine bent on destroying Neo-Domino for the sliver of hope that it would save the broken future.  Light swelled in his veins, and he felt briefly sick. How long did he have, with all of this power in him, before he started to wilt away from the same madness as his future self?

Lua stirred on Jack’s back.

“Well j-just don’t go crazy, Yusei,” he said, trying to crack a tired smile. “Then this future doesn’t even happen, right?  Isn’t that how time travel works?”

The joke somehow managed to diffuse the growing tension, and Yusei felt like he could breathe again.  Still, the looming knowledge of what was ahead of him felt like a weight over his shoulders.

“I don’t know how to stop myself from turning into Z-ONE,” he said.  “But...maybe...I can convince him— convince myself— that this isn’t the way to save the world.”

He looked to his friends, suddenly nervous.  This was a huge bombshell. He was almost afraid, now, to look at them and see wariness, betrayal, even fear.  They knew, now, what he somehow became. Would they mistrust him, now? How could they trust him, when this is what he apparently would turn into whether he liked it or not?

“If you all want to turn back, I understand,” he said, feeling the panic spike in his chest.  They might leave him after this. He wouldn’t blame them. Not only was he the reason for this whole awful situation...he’d already come to the worst conclusion.  

He was also responsible, directly, as the leader of Yliaster, for Zero Reverse.

Jack was the one who let out a harsh snort.

“Are you stupid?” he said.  “If you think something like this is going to make me stop now, you’re not the man I thought you were.”

“Yus, we’re not leaving you behind,” Crow said.  “I trust you. The you right now. And whatever shit happens in the future, we’ll all deal with it together.”

“I’ve come this far,” Carly said, her lip trembling despite her determined stance.  “I’m coming along, Yusei. I’m sure that we can find a way to fix this if we all work together.”

Luka actually threw herself forward and hugged Yusei around the waist.

“I don’t believe you’d ever become something like that!” she said.  “But...but even it’s true, I’m not giving up! We can save you, and the future together!”

“We are _not_ abandoning you,” Aki said fiercely.  “Never.”

“And I’m finally a Signer, so I wanna go on this adventure the whole way,” Lua said, trying to punch the air with one weak arm over Lua’s head.

Yusei felt tears blurring his eyes, and he gently put his hands on Luka’s shoulders where she was still hugging him.  Before he could say anything else, Aki was hugging him too, sandwiching Luka, and then Crow was grabbing them all from the side, and Jack was slinging one free arm over Yusei’s shoulders, Carly was reaching over to give him an awkward pat, and even Lua reached past Jack’s shoulders to try and give Yusei an awkward arm hug.

Yusei bent his head down into his friends’ group hug, and let a few of his tears escape him, running down the cool space where his marker was.  He felt too overcome to speak, for a moment, his chest too full of his friends words for him to force out any of his own.

“Thank you,” he finally gasped out.  “God. Thank you.”

One at a time, the hug broke apart.

“Now,” Aki said, eyes flashing.  “What about getting out there and saving your boyfriend’s ass?”

* * *

The walk was longer than Yusei would have liked.  That moment in the lobby had made him feel like they were one door outside the boss room, but once they had made their way to the door on the other side of the upside down room, there was another hallway.  At the end of that hallway was another upside down room, and another hallway beyond that. How big was this complex?

“Are we getting closer?” Luka asked nervously.

“I think so,” Yusei said.  His chest felt heavy, like he was trying to breathe someone else’s air.  He had a feeling that that was coming from getting close to his own other self.

“It’s definitely getting brighter,” Carly said, quickly putting her glasses back on after taking a peek and immediately looking blinded.

There was another door at the end of this hallway, and Yusei hesitated before he grabbed the knob.  There almost seemed to be some kind of electricity circling it, that if he touched it, he’d get more than just a zap of static.  But he heard the others breathing quietly behind him, the sound like a lifeline pushing him forward. Judai was waiting for him.

He grabbed the knob, and pushed the door open.

This room wasn’t upside down, or at least, compared to their own orientation.  And it was a _mess_.

Piles of scrap lay in heaps all around, and Yusei’s nostrils filled with the scent of oil and rust and metal.  It was a homey smell, and for a moment, he was taken so off guard that he stopped in the doorway, just breathing.  He felt like he was in the junkyard where he’d scavenged the parts for the Yusei-Go.

But the illusion faded, and he was just in a room full of junk, dimly lit and claustrophobically cramped.  He slid himself inside, and let the others through. There was a faint trail through the piles of junk, though the heaps were leaking bits and pieces in the way of it.  One at a time, and with some difficulty, the group made their way over the fallen pieces. Yusei looked around as they went, looking for any sign of himself or any other traps or surprises.  It was hard to pick out much in the almost-dark, with all of the shadows cast by the piles and piles of old metal scrap.

He felt a tightening of sadness in his chest, but it wasn’t his.  His hand immediately went to the mark on his arm,and he noticed the others all twitch, too, as a faint pain twanged through their Signer marks.  He felt the sudden urge to cry.

In response to the feeling, a low keen broke over the room.

 _“Antinomy,”_ a voice cried somewhere among the scrap.   _“Antinomy.  Antinomy. I’m so sorry.”_

Yusei felt his chest squeezing and he almost choked on it.

“Antinomy wanted me to talk to you,” he called out, his voice echoing over the scrap.

Immediately, the voice fell silent.  For a long, long breath, there was nothing.

And then something shifted, sending a rain of metal clattering down the piles into the path.  Yusei noted the direction, and turned towards the fork in the path between the junk where it was coming from.  In a few breaths, he’d broken free of the junkyard, and was in a sort of cleared out space in the middle of it all.

The biggest pile in the room, almost to the ceiling, lay before him.  At the bottom of the pile was a very broken looking android— Yusei sort of recognized it as the combination of Luciano, Placido, and Jose from their last WRGP match, but different in small ways.  This one had smaller shoulders, less markings around their eyes, and was very broken up. One arm was hanging loose and dangling by wires at the elbow. The face was half peeled off to show the dented metal beneath, and their hair was tangled and half shorn.  Still, they struggled to stand, glaring at the group with their one functioning eye.

 _“Aporia,”_ the voice gasped.   _“Aporia, who’s there?  I can’t see. It’s so bright.”_

“They’ve come, Z-ONE,” the android called Aporia said.  “Antinomy failed his mission.”

Another low, broken keen escaped from above Aporia, and Yusei finally looked up.

At the top of the pile of garbage, almost invisible against it, was a particularly large hunk of metal.  Among the pieces, Yusei had almost mistook it for part of the pile. But no, it was a single entity, a sleek metal cocoon cobbled together from several different colors of metal, with two large protruding poles, like arms from the sides.  

Aporia moved haltingly, putting themselves between Yusei’s group, and the hunk of metal at the top of the pile.  Yusei’s skin crawled, unable to look away from it.

 _That’s me?_ he thought.   _That’s...I turn into that?_

“Please do not worry,” Aporia said.  “I will take over Antinomy’s prime directive for the time being.  Then I will retrieve the Heart.”

Jack tensed, tightening his grip on Lua, and Luka jumped in front of Jack.

Yusei, however, clenched his fists, and walked forward.  He heard Aki swear, and she started to reach for him, but he was out of her reach in a moment.  Aporia’s eye widened and their mouth opened. Yusei walked until he was halfway to Aporia, and then stopped.  He looked up at the metal on the pile.

He looked up at himself.

“I know who you are,” he said.

The other didn’t answer.  After a breath, he moved slightly, shifting his metallic arms and sending another clatter of metal down onto the floor like dissonant rain.

“I know why you’re here, even if I don’t know how you got to this point,” Yusei said.  “Antinomy told me that I needed to stop you.”

A low moan echoed from inside the metal cocoon.

 _“Don’t speak of Antinomy,”_ the voice said, cracking.   _“You killed him.”_

“He was already dead, a long time ago.”

Aporia tensed when Yusei took another step forward.

“I don’t know what happens to you,” Yusei said.  “To me. To bring us here. But I want to try to understand.  So that I can talk you out of it.”

 _“It’s far too late,”_ the other said.   _“You’re young.  You’re naive. You don’t know what the alternatives are.”_

“I want to find an alternative.”

_“So idealistic.”_

The other sounded almost wistful.  Yusei stepped forward again, and this time, Aporia moved towards him, too.  Yusei heard someone swear where he had left his friends behind him, heard a shuffle of feet as though someone were going to come after him.  He tensed, and hoped— hoped that he was right.

Aporia was right in his face now, and one metallic hand grabbed for his throat.  Yusei didn’t move as the fingers tightened around him, just looking up at Aporia.  Aporia was taller than him by almost head, but he could still catch their eye easily.

As he had expected, they flinched.  Their hand slid off of his throat.

“You can’t do it,” Yusei said.  “Just like Antinomy couldn’t.”

“Don’t test me,” Aporia swore at him, but they were trembling slightly.

“I don’t want to fight you,” Yusei said, heart panging.  “We’re friends, aren’t we?”

Aporia flinched again.

“I’m not friends with you,” they whispered.  But their tremble only deepened.

“I only want to help him,” Yusei said.

Aporia looked down at Yusei with a despairing sort of glance.  Their shoulders slumped, loose arm snapping a few wires.

“You can’t save him,” they said.  “There’s nothing left to save.”

Yusei swallowed.  He felt a tremble starting in his own arms, and he grabbed his wrist with one hand to try to still it.

“Let me try,” he whispered.

Aporia stared at him for one long moment.  Then, silently, they stepped aside. Giving Yusei a clear path to Z-ONE.

Giving him a clear path to meet himself.

Inhaling sharply, Yusei stepped forward.  He walked until he was in front of the pile, craning his neck to look up at the cocoon where his own body was nestled inside.

“Let’s talk,” Yusei said.  “Let’s talk until we find a way out of this.”

He cracked a smile.

“We’ve talked to ourselves to find a way out of everything before, haven’t we?”

For a long moment, there was no response.

Then Z-ONE’s metal shell unfolded.  The mask shicked away from his face.  Yusei felt a shudder pass over him, feeling a horrible sense of uncanny valley that made his stomach turn.  It was his face, all right. Albeit a face that was decades upon decades older, and much worse for the wear than he’d like to imagine that he’d aged.  His own wrinkled, sallow, pale face stared down at him, a metal covering clamped down over half of it, one red robotic eye replacing one of the dark blue.

 _“You’re so young,”_ the future Yusei whispered, sounding wistful.   _“And everyone’s here, too.”_

“We’re all here to help,” Yusei said.

Future Yusei sighed deeply, the sound coming out rattling, like a voice spoken into a running fan.

 _“I missed all of you,”_ he said, looking out at the Signers still across the way.  Yusei didn’t look back to see how they were reacting. He felt like if he took his eyes away from himself, he’d somehow disappear entirely.  Future Yusei’s eyes dropped to Yusei himself. _“I miss being young and believing in the world.”_

“It doesn’t have to continue this way,” Yusei said.

_“You wouldn’t understand.  You don’t have the years that I do.  I knew that you would be impossible to speak with— after all, who lives that can truly come to terms with their younger self and the person they were so many years ago?”_

“Please,” Yusei said.  “Antinomy said—”

 _“Do not talk to me of Antinomy!”_ the future Yusei said, and Yusei was surprised to actually see anger pass over his eyes.   _“Antinomy was...one of the last...one of the last to remain...”_

A single tear rolled down his wrinkled cheek, and then Yusei understood.  His heart clenched. Of course he’d reached this point, in this state...if he had lost all of his friends, one by one— if he didn’t have them waiting behind him right now, he didn’t think he’d be able to stand, or breathe.  He was looking at a version of himself who had lost everything.

Could he really do as Bruno asked?  Could he really save himself? Was there a way to even do it?

A spike of pain shot through his head and he gasped, nearly choking on it.  The pain shot through him again, this time running through each of his arteries and veins one by one, nearly shaking him to his knees.  A sickness lodged in his stomach as though threatening vomit. Almost simultaneously, his own future self shuddered, too, and a series of lights went off all down the sides of the cocoon.

 _“You feel it, don’t you?”_ the future Yusei said.   _“The Light.  It was not meant to be shattered in this way, and if it remains apart, it will tear apart its human hosts.”_

“Is that why you wanted to kill me?  To remove the Light from my body?”

_“It’s the only way to separate such an entity from a host it’s become a part of.  The only way to save the world is to reforge Light all into one. And as long as two of us exist in one time with that power, we will die.”_

_Or the Madness will simply consume us_ , Yusei thought, feeling a dizzy wave come over him.  He felt, for a moment, completely disoriented. For a few seconds, he didn’t know where he was— or _who_ he was.  When he jolted back to himself, panic settled into his bones.  The fear of almost losing himself for even a breath was so palpable that he was breathing it like molasses.

He had to get himself under control.  There was a way to fix all of this. A way out.

His heart ached, and he felt an awful urge to grab hold of a hand that wasn’t there.  He swallowed through a dry throat. Judai was still missing. He needed Judai. Not just because the Light in his blood craved the cool touch of Darkness, but because he— he _needed_ Judai.  He needed his reassuring warmth beside him, the hand in his own, the feeling that as long as they were together, nothing was impossible.  It had only been hours since they’d been separated, and yet it felt like weeks.

“Where is Judai?” he asked.  “You must know that Judai is Darkness—Judai can help us, he can help us find a way to—”

 _“No,”_ the future Yusei snapped with far more force than Yusei was ready for.   _“I have him.  He is safe. Once I obtain all of Light, he will help me put the world in order.”_

Yusei tensed with nerves.  He had been right, then— somehow, his future self already had Judai.

“Let him out, please,” Yusei said.  “Wherever you have him, please— we can talk this out, together, we can—”

 _“You don’t understand a damn thing!”_ his future self practically shouting, voice cracking with feedback.   _“The Judai you know—he was never yours!  He was from my timeline! He fled from me, back to this time, but he was—I will not let him go, not now that I’ve found him again, not now that I’ve chased him through time and space to find him again!”_

The voice was full of rage, hurt, and panic.  Yusei felt those emotions crippling his own heart, as though he were feeling them himself.

_“Judai knew that we could save the world, but he was a coward!  He ran from me, he ran from what we could have done, and now that I’ve found him again, I will not let him go!”_

All of Yusei’s former concern and desire to understand his future self melted away.  Instead, anger flooded through him, and he slid his feet apart to square his stance, lifting his duel disk clad arm.

“He isn’t some object for you to imprison!” he said.  “If this is the way it has to be, then— for Judai, I’ll gladly destroy myself!”

 _“Naive fool,”_ his future self said.   _“You’ll see just how outmatched you truly are.”_

The ground shook, then.  Yusei swore— he heard Luka scream, Jack shouting, Crow swearing— then the ground opened up beneath Yusei’s feet, and the sky rained down with the remains of junk collected in the dark room as bright light from the world outside poured through from below.

For a moment, Yusei was simply falling.

And then he heard someone shriek out a name, and his body fell onto a soft bed of rose petals.  He grabbed a tight hold onto the shining dragon of white roses beneath him, head spinning, trying to catch his breath.  He looked up, and felt his stomach drop out as he realized how far he’d fallen. Above, he could see the hole in the floor of the room above, while junk still scattered like rain overhead.  Luckily, it seemed, none of his friends had been on the floor that had opened up, as he could see their distant faces above him. Aki’s dragon was warm beneath his fingers, and he clutched tightly to the petals for a moment.

Then a flash of light and motion caught his eyes, and he turned over his shoulder.

His future self, still clad in the metal cocoon, hovered in midair.  Two gigantic metal arms and hands protruded from the sides of the hovering machine, and his own dark blue eye glared at him.

 _“If you would take him back, and doom the world,”_ his future self said.   _“Then fight me.”_

Yusei tightened his knees against the dragon, and lifted up his Duel Disk arm.

“Fine then,” he said.


	53. Sculptor

Judai shook, trembling, still held in the future Yusei’s arms.  It still burned against his skin from the Light that made up the astral body, but he wouldn’t have been able to struggle away even if he’d wanted to.

“This can’t be true,” Judai gasped.  “You’re lying to me. That’s not what happened.  You’re making it up.”

_ “I wish I was.” _

The future Yusei gently ran spectral fingers through Judai’s hair.  It burned with Light as usual, but it tingled, too. It reminded him of another Yusei running a hand through his hair, tilting his head up towards him to lean in for a faint brush of lips.  It hurt. Judai felt his heart getting ready to burst in two.

_ This is why Fujiwara wanted to kill him, _ Judai realized.   _ If he could have killed Yusei before he’d been able to absorb so much Light, this future couldn’t happen. _

If Judai had known that to begin with, if Fujiwara had told him that this was what happened to Yusei, would he have listened?  No, no, no, he would have never agreed to kill Yusei, he would have wanted to find a way to fix it, to stop him from going this far, but...

But was there a way?  Was it already too late?

“I don’t understand,” Judai mumbled.  “What happened to you? What happened to us?”

Yusei’s arms tightened on him, a stress-induced reaction.

_ “You left me,” _ Yusei said.   _ “You ran.” _

Judai felt sick.  It wasn’t because of Yusei’s death that he went back in time, over and over again.  The first time, something terrible had happened, something that had caused Lua to pull Judai forward in time...but instead of saving them from whatever fate had befallen them, Judai had simply caused something worse.  He’d driven Yusei to this state, over and over again, without his memories to tell him what he’d already tried. This was his fault. And in the end, every time, it seemed, he’d run. He’d run back in time, over and over again, abandoning the future Yusei to his fate and hoping to try again.  No wonder Yusei’s voice filled with so much pain now.

_ “It’s not your fault,” _ Yusei assured him, running his hand through Judai’s hair again.   _ “I pushed you away.  I thought...I don’t remember what I thought.” _

He sounded dizzy for a moment.  There was a faint crackling, like static tickling over Judai’s arms.  The crackling heat passed over Judai’s eyes, then, and his eyes were drawn somewhere else once more.

“Yusei, you need to sit down.”

His own voice sounded alien and unnatural to his ears, and Judai watched helplessly as he saw himself.  His hands hovered over Yusei’s shoulders, not yet grabbing, but clearly wanting to. Yusei wasn’t looking away from whatever he was building, despite the tremble in his hands.  Judai was surprised to see a very nervous looking young Luciano/Placido/Jose sitting on a bench in the broken up workshop, kicking their legs back and forth and trying not to look at the two of them.

“I’m almost done,” Yusei said, voice crackling.  His head was still half consumed with metal, and further wires were plugged into a metal piece plugged into his back, the wires dragged across the floor to a chair on the other side of the room.  “If I can connect this circuit...”

“You’ve been working for days; you haven’t eaten,” Judai said, voice cracking.

“I don’t need to anymore,” Yusei said, his voice sounding distant and echoey.  “Don’t need to anymore.”

“Yusei—”

Yusei shrugged off Judai’s hands, and Judai slumped backwards.  He looked pale, even for his usual skin tone, and a faint, constant tremble passed through his limbs.

“What are you working on?” the young Luciano said, his voice sounding small and thin.

Yusei didn’t look up from his work.

“If this smaller version works, a bigger one will too,” he said.  “It’s channeling the Light in my body into a safe form. If this works, we can collect enough energy from the two of us, from other people, and channel it into this, forcing a ReBalancing.”

“Yusei, you need to rest,” Judai said.  “This...this might not work. It might just...”

Judai saw his own face close off, bite down on his lip.  He knew, exactly, what his other self was thinking. Yusei was building a miniature version of the Circuit.  Judai remembered the Z-ONE of his timeline, and what had happened. He knew Yusei was going down the wrong path.

_ Stop him _ , Judai thought desperately.   _ Stop him!  You have to talk him out of it! _

The scene melted and changed.  It was the same workshop, but now it was filled with a hundred metal pieces, all fit together like a giant floor puzzle, circuits inscribed down their edges.  Yusei was working a blowtorch on one of the pieces, on his knees with the wires in his back still dragged across the floor. Luciano, still young looking, held the cord for Yusei in one hand, and a pile of copper wires in the other.

Judai came in through the front doors, coat looking rumpled and tattered.  He looked exhausted. 

He stopped when he saw the circuits covering the floor.

“Yusei, no,” Judai said.  “Please. We talked about this— this is exactly what—”

“I know what my other future self did,” Yusei said, his voice coming out harshly.  “I won’t make the same mistakes.”

In response to his irritation, the severed bits and pieces of Meklord technology strewn about the room actually twitched and spasmed.  A Meklord head’s eyes lit up, an arm spasmed, a cannon spluttered.

Judai flinched, and Yusei stopped, closing his one visible eye and inhaling.

“I’m sorry,” he said.  “I don’t know...I don’t know what’s coming over me.”

“It’s the Meklords— and the Light.  Yusei, I think they’re killing you. You need to stop.”

“I need...I need to stop,” Yusei said, sounding distant.

Judai stepped over the beginnings of the Circuit, making his way carefully over the sparking edges until he reached Yusei.  He put his hand on Yusei’s shoulder.

“Please,” Judai said.  “You have to stop.”

Yusei nodded, as though sleep walking.  For a moment, he looked like he was going to put the blow torch down.

And then, as though the conversation with Judai hadn’t happened, he turned it back on and started working again.  Judai grabbed his wrist.

“Yusei, you need to fight it!  You need to fight this— this programmed urge!  The Light doesn’t know what it wants right now; it’s confused and you’re buying into it!”

There was an awful smacking sound, and the Judai watching flinched in spite of himself as though he had been the one who was struck in that moment.  The past Judai flinched, fell back. He stared with wide, horror-filled eyes at Yusei, and slowly, slowly, pulled his hand up to his cheek, where the red mark was spreading from Yusei’s wild blow.

Yusei staggered to his feet, his one visible eye wide and wild. 

“I know what I need to do!” he shouted.  “I know! It’s in my head and I know what I can do to fix this!  Why aren’t you supporting me? I thought you wanted to help me!!”

The Meklord bits in the room went crazy.  A head spun so fast that it fell to the floor and began to chitter.  The arm cannon fired off a weak flurry of shots uselessly at a wall. A big torso piece started to open and close its casing over and over like a distressed beetle.

And then, just as suddenly, it stopped.  Yusei’s eye cleared, and for a moment, he stared around dizzily, like he didn’t know where he was.  His eyes fell on Judai and widened.

“Oh god, I did it again, didn’t I?” he said.

“It’s not your fault,” Judai reassured quickly.  “The Madness...it’s eating you alive. It wasn’t you.”

Yusei swallowed, hands trembling.

“Judai, I’m losing myself,” he said, closing his eye.  “I’m too much Light. Not enough me.”

“We can fix this,” Judai reassured again, standing up and walking towards him.  But Yusei drew back, putting space between him.

“No.  You can’t save me like this.”

Yusei smiled weakly without opening his eye.

“Please,” he said.  “Run away from me. Get away before I hurt you again.”

“Yusei,” Judai said, his voice breaking.

Luciano only stared between them with wide eyes, eyes flickering back and forth.

“Please,” Yusei said again, begging.  “Please run. I don’t know how much of me is going to be left when I open my eyes again.  I can’t hurt you again.”

Judai’s eyes filled with tears.

“I’m not leaving you.”

“Yes,” Yusei said.  “You are.”

He opened his eye again, and it was once more blank and distant.  As though he didn’t even see Judai, he turned back around, picked up his fallen blow torch, and began working again.  Judai stared at him with disbelief. 

A single tear rolled down his cheek.

“I’m going to save you,” he said.  “I promise.”

Yusei didn’t respond.  Then Judai closed his eyes, inhaled, exhaled.  He opened his eyes again, and they were a full black.

“Darkness,” he whispered.  “I’m going to take you up on that contract again.”

Judai came out of the memory feeling sick and on the verge of throwing up.  He trembled in Yusei’s grip again.

_ “Oh,” _ Yusei whispered.   _ “I’d forgotten all of that.  I’m remembering more now, see?  Now that we’re together again.” _

“Why?” Judai finally croaked.  “Why do you need to destroy Neo-Domino?  How is that the only plan you could come up with?  Y-you’re smarter than that, Yusei. Even if the Light is doing this to you, you shouldn’t have thought that was the only option.”

Yusei’s shoulders slumped slightly against him.

_ “I’m old,” _ he said.   _ “You can’t tell from here, but I’m so much older than you now.  I’ve spent decades trying to find a way. This is all that’s left.” _

“But this— this can’t be the way to save anyone!  This can’t stop what’s going to happen! If you end up killing your present self, the same thing will happen!  The Light will just explode again, the Meklords will attack, and it’ll start all over again!”

_ “No, it won’t,” _ Yusei said.   _ “Not this time.  My other selves who started this loop over and over again were missing one thing that I have.” _

“What’s that?” Judai asked, tense.

_ “I remember more than they did,” _ Yusei said.   _ “I’ve kept more of myself than they did.  And now you’ve come back to me.” _

Judai shuddered.  Yusei sounded so happy, and it made his heart break.

_ “Help me, Judai,” _ Yusei said, releasing him so that he could hold both of his hands.   _ “Help me make things right.  You promised to save me and everyone.  We can do it together.” _

Judai stared up at those clear blue eyes, the eyes that should be familiar.  They seemed paler, as though something had washed the color out and left only a thin film behind.  This wasn’t Yusei. It hadn’t been Yusei for a very long time.

But, Judai thought, couldn’t he save him?  

“What do you need from me?” he asked slowly.

Yusei’s face brightened.

_ “I knew you would help,” _ he said, squeezing Judai’s hands.   _ “I need you to just stay here, in this Momentum.  When the point of singularity occurs, I’ll need to be able to siphon Darkness out of you and into myself.” _

Judai’s heart clenched.

“You’re going to take Darkness out of me?” he said.  “Yusei, that could kill me. That could kill  _ you _ .”

_ “It’s going to be all right, I promise,”  _ Yusei said, squeezing his hands.   _ “With this, I’ll have Darkness and Light together in one place.  I’ll be able to use their power to fix everything.” _

This was crazy.  This was absolutely insane.  There was no way it would work.  No matter what mechanical enhancements Yusei was sporting, holding that much power in him at once would kill him.  Judai had seen what Light alone was doing to him; he’d seen in their memories of the future what being too wrapped up in Darkness had done to Judai himself.  And he’d of course seen Fujiwara literally fall apart after being too enmeshed in Darkness’s power.

If Yusei did this, if he used the two Momentums to drag Light out of his past self and Darkness out of Judai, and took it all on himself, he’d die.

“Yusei, there has to be another way,” Judai said.  “This is too dangerous.”

_ “Don’t worry,” _ Yusei said, reassuringly.  It wasn’t reassuring, but the sound of Yusei’s voice made Judai shudder anyway.  Just looking at him, feeling his hands, hearing his voice— Judai  _ wanted _ to trust him.  He wanted to trust that Yusei would never be so far gone as to do something without thinking it through, without being sure that this was the only option.  He should be able to trust the one he loved no matter what, right? Enough to entrust this to him?

_ But if you do this, if you believe him, you’re killing Yusei in this time _ , he thought.   _ You’re killing the Yusei you’ve fallen in love with  _ now _ for the one that you don’t know if you recognize anymore. _

It was all too confusing.  It hurt. He didn’t want to try and wrap his mind around all the things that were happening right now.  Which Yusei did he believe in? The one in front of him, or the one far away? Which was the real Yusei?  Weren’t they  _ both _ the real Yusei?  Gods, he couldn’t figure it out.  He didn’t even know where to start.

The Yusei in front of him was watching him so hopefully, his hands still clutching Judai’s.  They didn’t feel right, somehow. It was Yusei’s hands, for sure, and they didn’t burn so much as before, but something about Yusei’s grip on him felt wrong.  This was still Yusei. Madness or no, it was still Yusei. He...he should trust Yusei, shouldn’t he?  _ Shouldn’t he? _

_ Maybe there’s another way _ , he thought.   _ I saved Yubel from the Light, once. Maybe...I could do it again. _

His fingers twitched.  He could do it. He had the power of Super Polymerization running in his veins, now.  It would be just as dangerous as Yusei’s plan, yes, but...but it was a possibility. He could fuse the two of them together.  He didn’t know what would happen, then— would his own Darkness chase out everything in Yusei that was Light, and Light would be left alone once again to make things worse?  Or would Judai, like Yusei planned for himself, take on all of Light and Darkness in himself and either die or become a god? Neither were options he was particularly keen on.

_ God _ , he thought, staring into Yusei’s not-quite-right eyes.   _ I want to trust you.  I love you. You’re right in front of me.  So why do I feel so alone? _

_ I want Yusei. _

_ He’s right in front of me. _

_ I want... _ my _ Yusei.   _

_ They’re both my Yusei.  This is the Yusei I abandoned, and he wants me to abandon the other one now, instead.  I don’t know who to believe, or who to trust. I don’t know, I don’t know, I don’t know! _

Judai’s eyes filled with tears.  Why was this so hard? He wanted Yusei.  He wanted the other one, the one that didn’t make him feel like he was making a mistake, the one that made him feel safe.  Not this...facsimile, this one that made him feel more alone and less safe than he ever had.

_ It’s my fault you turned out this way, _ he thought.   _ I should...take responsibility.  I have to do this, so that this won’t happen again.  I have to fuse us. _

He swallowed thickly.  His hands tightened on Yusei’s hands.

_ “Please,” _ Yusei said.   _ “Trust me.  Believe in me, Yusei.” _

Judai opened his mouth, though he wasn’t sure what he was going to say.  One single, treacherous tear escaped him.

And then he felt a familar warmth pass through his chest, scales settling beneath his skin.  Judai gasped.

_ Yubel? _ he thought.

_ —I’m back—  _ she said.   _ —And don’t you make any rash decisions, Judai.  I’ve brought a friend along, but he can’t stay for long—  _

Huh?  Judai started to ask, knowing that Yusei was starting to look at him curiously for his delay in answering.

_ “Judai.  It’s me.” _

Judai choked on his own air hearing Fujiwara’s voice in his head.

_ Fujiwara??? _

_ “Don’t get your pants in a twist.  I’m not joining your menagerie of Duel Spirits trapped in your body today.  I just needed to talk to you, quickly.” _

Judai swallowed.  Yusei was still waiting for his answer, but now Judai could see how empty the projection in front of him was.  The real Yusei wasn’t here, either the present or the future one. This was merely an illusion that the future Yusei had created inside this space.

_ I don’t suppose you’re here to tell me ‘I told you so’ because I’m already regretting enough. _

Fujiwara snorted.

_ “We’d be here all day with the ‘I told you so’s’ if that were the case.  I don’t have the time. Listen to me, Judai— I know what the future Yusei is planning, and I know what you’re planning in response.  You can’t fuse the two of you together.” _

Judai tensed.

_ How did you know? _

_ “I guessed.  Looks like I guessed right.” _

_ It’s the only way to save him.  I don’t know what else to do. _

_ “Yuki Judai, do you love Yusei?” _

Judai hesitated, taken aback by the question.

_ Of course I do!  What do you think this whole damn thing has been about? _

_ “Then you need to trust him.  You need to trust in the one that exists  _ right now _.  Think about it, Judai— what’s the best way to save someone lost in the future?” _

Judai swallowed.  He looked up at the projection of Yusei again, with his washed out eyes and somehow wrong face, as though he were older and younger than he should be all at the same time.

_ You....you save them in the past, first. _

_ “Exactly, you dumbass.  Listen: Light and Darkness were never meant to be one.  Forcing them to be so won’t fix anything.” _

Fujiwara paused, and Judai felt a faint sense of something leaking out of his mind, as though he were fading away.  When he spoke next, his voice was distant and tinny.

_ “Light and Darkness loved each other, Judai,”  _ Fujiwara said.   _ “I’m wondering if maybe this all started because they loved each other too much, forcing one of them to give away their heart, to make it all stop hurting.” _

His voice was disappearing faster now.

_ “You have no reason to trust me, Judai, but please: do the same blasted thing you’ve done this whole time, fighting against me all these loops.  Don’t give up on your love. Don’t ever abandon it, no matter how much it hurts. Trust in that person you love with all your might, and together you can fix this stupid future.  This is our last shot— make a miracle out of it.” _

_ That’s easy for you to say. _

Fujiwara’s distant, echoing voice laughed, and then he was gone.  Yubel shifted in the back of Judai’s head, sighing and settling comfortably back into his skin.

Light and Darkness loved each other, Judai thought, turning it around in his head.  Don’t give up. Don’t abandon your love.

Judai looked up at the Yusei in front of him again.  It was his Yusei, yes...but it was only a possible Yusei.  He couldn’t fix him now. He had to go back, further. He had to reach back into his past and recreate the future from here.

He had to trust the Yusei of the now.

Judai inhaled, and closed his eyes.

“I’m sorry, Yusei,” he said.  “But I won’t help you.”

_ Yusei, wherever you are...I believe in you.  I’ll find you. I promise. _


	54. Centaurus

_ Thirteen years ago _

He clutched the two small lumps to him, staring at nothing.  They were surprisingly quiet, for newborn babies. They slept soundly in their wrappings of cloth, eyes closed in a restful sleep.  He felt the faint flutter of feathers against his skin.

_ “I’m sorry.” _

“It’s not your fault.”

_ “I should have known how much it would have taken out of her.” _

Fujiwara stared down at the empty bed.  It felt so far away, now. The strange series of events that had led him to this moment.  His college classmate with the huge, cross eyed grin. The impulsive night. The pregnancy.  The complications. The premature baby twins that now laid in his arms.

“I don’t think they believed me when I said I was the father.”

Fujiwara held the little lumps a little tighter.  They felt warmer than they should, than newborn babies had any right to be.

“Honest.  I’m not going to wait for someone else to take them.”

_ “I know you’re not.” _

“No one else can take care of them.  She would have wanted it, right?”

_ “There isn’t anyone else in the world that would be able to protect them from what grows within them.  Judai has been gone for a very long time.” _

Fujiwara let out a coughing laugh.

“Fuck,” he said.  “He really left us high and dry, didn’t he?  I don’t know what to do. I can’t raise kids.  I don’t know anything about helping magic kids, either.”

_ “We could ask Johan.” _

“No, the fewer people who know about them, the better.  If Yliaster learned about the Heart....”

He swallowed.  Another choked laugh escaped him.

“I didn’t really plan on becoming a dad today.”

He looked down at the two little shapes in his arms, feeling the warm of the faint crimson haze that grew off of them.

“One of them’s got it, right?  The Heart?”

_ “Yes.  Though it’s difficult yet to tell which one.  Both of them contain large stores of power directly from the Dragon.” _

“I’ve been trying to figure out where the hell Light put it and the rest of its pieces for decades.  And now, it comes back like this? Bullshit. They’re babies. They...they shouldn’t have to grow up with this hanging over them.”

A frustrated tear leaked down his cheek.

“It killed her, Honest.  She couldn’t handle the heat.  This must be my fault. Darkness...it must have done something to me, to cause the kids to turn out like—”

_ “What’s done has been done, Fujiwara.” _

He inhaled sharply, roughly.  Then he stood, the babies nestled into his arms.

“We’d better go before anyone sees us,” he said.

Honest nodded, and wrapped his warm, feathery wings around him, hiding him and the infants from sight.

“I’m going to need your help to protect them,” Fujiwara whispered.  “I can’t do this by myself.”

* * *

 

_ Ten Years Ago _

He punched the wall and bit back a scream.  Honest put a hand on his shoulder.

“When is she going to wake up?” he hissed.  “Honest! When?”

_ “Her soul is so far away.  The spirits are hiding her, so even I can’t find her.  She’s safe, at least.” _

He could hear Lua in the other room, gasping over and over  _ Luka, Luka, Luka _ .  The word stabbed Fujiwara— half from the pain of knowing how broken his son was over his unconscious sister.  Half from the fact that Lua’s voice was actually piercing tiny holes in the fabric of reality.

“They’re both getting stronger and stronger every day,” Fujiwara mumbled.  “One day, they might simply melt. Human bodies aren’t meant to hold this much.”

Honest tightened his folded arms, hair moving slightly as though in a constant breeze.  But there was nothing he could say. Fujiwara slumped against the wall. Four weeks. She’d been unconscious for four weeks, her soul wandering somewhere deep in another dimension where he couldn’t reach, and Lua hadn’t left her side, just calling her name over and over.  He was only three, and yet he seemed to know, instinctively, that if he kept calling, eventually, his voice would reach the world that she had traveled to. Fujiwara didn’t want to walk back in there and see her tiny body, hollow and lifeless with all of the wires plugged into her.  To see the burned brand of the dragon’s claw on her forearm, where it had appeared the day she’d fallen unconscious.

This...this was too cruel.  How could the Light do this?  How could it stuff its power into such tiny bodies with no regard for what it would do to them?

“We have to find the others,” Fujiwara said.  “The other marked ones. They’ll be able to stabilize the two of them...if they can put the dragon together, it’ll all stabilize...”

He was babbling.  Honest knew all of this already.  But the panic was too much. He’d moved these children around almost once a week since their birth, trying to avoid them being noticed by Yliaster.  And now, Luka was trapped in this hospital bed, and her case was in the news, and Yliaster would figure it out one way or another that Luka was a bearer of Light’s mark.  He’d already noticed one of those Public Maintenance Bureau goons lurking about the hospital.

And once they learned of Luka, they’d learn of Lua, too.  And his mark was starting to form. Fujiwara had seen the bruise-colored spots on his arm, and the longer he tried to push his voice through the veil to Luka, the more his powers would surge.

Fujiwara clenched his fists.

“Honest,” he said.  “I’m going to need your help.”

Honest looked incredibly, awfully sad, and didn’t meet Fujiwara’s eyes.

_ “This will hurt him,” _ he said.   _ “To be divorced from an integral part of what you are...it’s not easy.” _

“I know, but it’s his and her best chance of survival,” Fujiwara said.

He didn’t wait for another word.  He marched into the next room, where Lua trembled at Luka’s side, still whispering.  _ “Luka, Luka, Luka.” _

The machines beeped suddenly.  Luka’s fingers twitched. Fujiwara caught his breath as her eyes fluttered open, mouth opening beneath her breathing mask.  Lua didn’t notice at first— but then his tired eyes lifted, and he sat bolt upright.

“Luka!” he cried hoarsely.  “You’re home!”

Luka smiled tiredly, and Lua threw himself against his sister’s side, crying.

Fujiwara called the doctors in.  And as they swarmed the little miracle girl, he gently pulled Lua away, into another room.  Lua was crying tears of joy, hugging Fujiwara tightly. Fujiwara felt like he was going to throw up.  He clutched Lua— his son— to his chest. His hand pressed against his back.

“I’m so sorry,” he whispered.

Lua’s breath caught, and then Honest added his hand to Fujiwara’s.  The seal began to weave over his heart, and sealed every bit of his burning fire away.

* * *

_ Five Years Ago _

“It’s been a while since we’ve heard from you,” Asuka said.  There was almost an accusation in there, or maybe Fujiwara was imagining it.  He felt so tired.

“I’m sorry,” he said.  “Things have been rough.  What’s the status on what I asked about?”

Asuka sighed, and flipped open her files.  Fubuki leaned back in his chair putting his hands behind his head.

“Well, our informant did confirm that Yliaster seems to be looking for those dragons you told us about,” she said.  “Unfortunately, tracking them down has been all but impossible for us. We just don’t have the resources.”

“And, chances are good they might be in Satellite,” said Fubuki.  “I  _ did _ hear a similar description of one of those dragons being used by a duel gang, but...getting in contact with them has obviously been a dead end.”

Fujiwara nodded absently.  His mind was wandering to whether the twins would be okay with the microwave dinners he’d left.  They were easy enough and Luka was mature for her age, but was it too complicated for them? Would they remember to eat?  Would his security system protect them if someone came after them while he was gone?

“Have you heard from Johan recently?” he asked.  “Anything new?”

“Not much.  He said he’s looking out for kids with that energy signature coming to his school, though,” Fubuki said.

The door opened, and O’Brien hesitated in the doorframe, eyes flickering between all of them.

“Oh, I didn’t know you were coming,” Asuka said, hurriedly shoving her files out of the way so that O’Brien could take a seat.  He shook his head, though.

“I’m not here for long.  I just had something I needed to pass on that I ran into.  I thought it sounded suspicious enough to bring up.”

He clomped across the floor and pulled out a thin envelope from his pocket.

“Acquaintance of mine from Italy.  I was poking around about those dragons, and she said something that struck me.  Apparently, about twenty some years ago, she saw something strange.”

“Twenty years ago?  I doubt that’s relevant,” Fujiwara said.

O’Brien’s lips pressed together.

“Well, decide for yourself.  But I think she might have been the last person to see Judai.”

The whole room took a simultaneous breath in.  Fujiwara trembled in spite of himself. If Judai had been here...would this be different?  He had barely known him, and yet, he’d been the most capable and powerful human Fujiwara had known...and the most determined to defend this world.  If he hadn’t disappeared...perhaps he wouldn’t be worrying about the twins so much.

He took the envelope and took out the contents.  There was what appeared to be a battered photograph of a young man making a peace sign in front of a fountain.  That was Judai, for sure. 

He was startled, then, by a large thwump on the table in front of him.  He jumped up with a swear.

“Pharaoh??” Asuka said, eyes widening.

“That cat’s still alive?” Fubuki said, leaning forward to scratch its head.  “What are you made of, kitty?”

The cat was bigger than the last time Fujiwara had seen it, almost the size of a lynx, but just as fat.  It laid sprawled on the table with tail flicking. It yawned widely in Fujiwara’s direction.

“My acquaintance runs a camera shop.  Said she met Judai in Venice and he asked her to take a picture for him,” he said.  “Pharaoh was with him at that point.”

“This was twenty something years ago, how does she remember?” Fubuki said.

“Because of what happened afterward,” O’Brien said tensely.  “Pharaoh was still in the shop with her when Judai seemed to think he heard something outside.  She watched him go out into the empty road. And then she saw a kid run up to him.”

O’Brien looked actually nervous now, biting his lip before continuing.

“She said she’d never forget it.  The kid was glowing. Red marks all over their body, like they were bleeding, but it was made of light instead.  They grabbed hold of Judai and seemed to be talking to him in a panic. She was about to call the police when they both just vanished.  She never saw him again.”

Asuka stroked the lounging Pharaoh, though she looked pale.

Fujiwara felt for a moment like the world had stopped functioning.  Like his heart had just simply stopped, his lungs turned to blocks of cement in his chest.

“Fujiwara?” Asuka said.  “Are you okay?”

“I’m sorry,” Fujiwara said, standing up so quickly that he knocked the chair over.  “I have to go.”

It took too long for him to get back.  He had to bolt out of one taxi and into another after traffic got too bad, and by the time he was slapping his entry code into door for the Tops complex, he felt like somehow he was already too late.  Too late, for something that happened over twenty years ago? 

The elevator to the top floor was too long.  He’d bought this condo because it seemed like the safest place to hide the twins, with the best security system in the entire city, because no one would expect that he’d hide them here.  But now it felt so far away, too far away for him to get there in time if something happened.

He stumbled out of the elevator doors and burst down the hall, practically throwing his shoulder into the door as he forced his key into it and burst inside.

“Lua!” he shouted.  “Luka!”

For a brief, brief moment, he thought  _ I was too late.  They’re gone somehow _ .

But then, two heads popped up over the back of the couch.  

“Papa!  You’re home!” Lua squealed, clambering over the back of the couch and falling right on his face on the other side.

Fujiwara couldn’t breathe for a moment.  His heart was still hammering, as Lua squealed with indignation at having fallen on his face and Luka groaned at her brother’s clumsiness.  Tears choked his eyes and for a moment he couldn’t see.

Then he hurried across the floor, and scooped Lua off of it into his arms.  He went around the couch to scoop up Luka, too, and then sat down with both of them in his arms.  They were almost too big for him to hold them both at the same time, he thought distantly. He squeezed as hard as he could without hurting them, to remind himself that they were still here.

“Papa?” Lua said.  “Are you okay? You’re crying.”

Fujiwara tried to breathe.

Maybe that child hadn’t been one of them.  Maybe it had been someone else with the Light.

But he knew better.  He knew it in his bones with a horrible ominous feeling.  He knew that somehow, someday, one of these two was going to disappear, go back in time, and steal away Judai— for what reason, he had no idea.  But it would mean that their powers were unsuppressed, and it would mean that they would be in terrible danger.

“I’m sorry,” he breathed.  “I’m a terrible father.”

He needed to stop Yliaster.  Before anyone could cause his children to run back in time for help.  He had to protect them  _ now _ .

* * *

_ Five Months Ago _

This had to be it.  He wasn’t wrong. Fujiwara’s hands shook, but he tightened them into fists to keep the shake away.  The warehouse yawned dark and empty, but he couldn’t deny the energy readings he was registering. Yliaster was here.  Maybe even their main base. If he could find and destroy their leader...this could all end. Whatever had caused Judai to come forward in time wouldn’t have to happen.  His kids would finally be safe. He’d already allowed them to get caught up in the Dark Signers fiasco, unable to come back to their aid during a deep infiltration mission.  At the very least, it seemed the Signers had in fact stabilized them...and once he was done with this mission, he could go back, explain everything, and take care of them.

_ Click, click, click _ .  Footsteps.  Someone was here.  

Fujiwara flattened himself against a wall and waited, holding his breath.  The footsteps grew closer.

“Dumbass,” Fujiwara heard someone mutter— it sounded like a child’s voice.  “Placido thinks he can get all high and mighty with me, does he? He’ll be the one crying when I’m the one to take them all out...”

The shape came around the corner.  It was definitely a child, Fujiwara saw with some surprise.  They were wearing a strange headdress and cloak that almost seemed to float around them, with...a metal piece covering one eye?  Despite the fact that they were no more than a child, Fujiwara felt himself tense with an ominous sense of nerves.

In the shadows, the child didn’t see him right away.  But they stormed towards him in a red-faced, tantrum sort of expression, and Fujiwara knew he’d be found out.  So he decided to take the element of surprise for himself.

He came off the wall, and the child froze in place, eyes widening.  Then their face contorted with irritation.

“Oh,” he said.  “Looks like a  _ rat _ got in.”

Fujiwara lifted his Duel Disk arm and tensed for battle.  Honest’s wings rustled in anticipation beside him.

“So,” Fujiwara said.  “Is this Yliaster?”

The child stared at him for a moment.  Then something like recognition dawned in their eyes.

“Oh my god,” they said, eyes lighting up with glee.  “It’s you! You’re that one that’s always pissing off Jose because you keep fucking around with our stuff!  Fujiwara Yusuke!”

Fujiwara grunted.  So he was famous. He’d thought he’d kept a low profile.

“Placido’s going to be so pissed when he finds out  _ I  _ was the one to take you down!” the child laughed, clapping their hands.  “All right, this was just what I needed. Give me a good fight!”

“Don’t think it will be so easy,” Fujiwara said.

The hallway whirred with the holographic projectors, and hummed with the power of real monsters that tore through the void.  So, Fujiwara thought. This child could summon real monsters. Well, Fujiwara was no psychic duelist, but he could still— 

His life points hit zero.

He barely had the chance to register it  Barely had the time to feel the panic when the child advanced on him with his robots, which weren’t disappearing with the end of the game.  As though through a tunnel, he could hear Honest shouting at him, telling him to run, to retreat.

_ Oh god _ , he thought, as the metal slashed through his body, as the child gleefully stole Honest from his limp, weak hands while he began to bleed out against the wall.   _ No.  I can’t— I can’t have failed them. _

The tiny lumps in his arms, warmer than any newborn had the right to be.

_ I can’t have failed. _

Lua whispering Luka’s name, hoarse and broken, over and over as he cried over his sister’s empty body.

_ I can’t fail them! _

Tiny heads popping up over the top of the couch, scrambling around to hug him when he came home.

_ I can’t I can’t I can’t I can’t—  _

**_If you don’t want to fail, then, perhaps we can strike a deal once more._ **

He was surrounded in total and utter darkness.  And he recognized this darkness better than anything else.

“No,” he gasped.  “No! I won’t...I won’t let you take control of me again.  I stole myself back from you, I rebuilt myself, I won’t....”

**_Oh come now.  You act as though as I’m some sort of demon.  Recall, if you will, that_ ** **you** **_were the one that set the terms of our agreement last time._ **

Fujiwara couldn’t feel his body.  Was he alive, or dead? It was almost as though he didn’t really exist.

**_You were the one who_ ** **wanted** **_to be forgotten.  To lose all individuality.  It was your will that drove that story forward, not mine._ **

“You seemed pretty in on it at the time,” Fujiwara said through grit teeth.  “But why now? Why come to me now?”

Darkness, surprisingly, hesitated.  Fujiwara felt something...something like a tingle of unease passing through the shadows.

**_Because I’m bored._ **

A lie, Fujiwara thought with a shock.  Darkness was lying to him.

And yet...

He struggled, trying to feel some part of himself, to will his limbs back into life.

“What will you ask in return if I make a contract with you?” he begged.

**_Nothing much.  Just allow me to have a little foothold in your soul once again._ **

Risky.  A terrible, awful idea.

But...

He thought of them again, their big hazel-yellow eyes looking up at him, tiny hands curled into his shirt when they hugged him.  How long had it been, even, since he’d seen them? He’d spent so much of his time away, trying to find a way to protect them. If he’d had a body to feel, he would have blinked away tears.

“I accept,” he gasped.  “I accept the terms of your contract.”

* * *

_ Present _

Fujiwara lost his grip on Yubel.  What was left of him receded back into the shadows, sinking back beneath it like quicksand.  He stared at the nothingness, at the shadows that consumed him. It was...hard to think right now.  Like his memories were being eaten away at, a bit at a time.

“I’m dying, aren’t I?” he said.

**_Humans were never meant to be a part of me for so long._ **

Fujiwara let out a choked laugh.

“Well, at least I got this far,” he croaked.  “At least...I can believe that they’ll do what I couldn’t.”

Darkness didn’t answer.  His perception of the being had changed so much in such a short time.  What once had been an unfathomable creature of ancient intellect, and alien thought, was now...almost familiar.  Like an old friend rather than an elder god.

He was surprised when he felt something.  He’d thought he’d lost all ability to feel by now, but no, he felt them, like soft hands lifting him up out of the shadows.

**_I don’t have much of me left, either_ ** **.**

Wait.  Was his mind getting clearer?  He was breathing, he remembered how to breathe!

**_I never thought I would come to this place.  To wonder what it is like to die._ **

“You’re...you’re what?”

**_It seems that we’re coming to the end of my era, and Light’s as well._ **

“No!  Yusei and Judai are— they’re going to save you!  They’re going to...the ReBalancing...”

Fujiwara was standing, now.  He was on his own two feet, still surrounded by darkness, but...he was solid.  His body was back to normal.

And before him, an ink black image of Judai stood, looking up at him with glowing blue eyes.  For a moment, Darkness only looked at him, unblinking. What was it seeing, Fujiwara wondered?  And what was it looking for?

“What are you doing?” Fujiwara asked.

**_My time comes to a close.  Our contract is ended. Your body returns to you._ **

“But what are you—”

To Fujiwara’s shock, Darkness... _ smiled _ .

**_Your love was inspiring_ ** **,** it said.   **_I cannot promise that this world will survive, once Light and I are gone, and the Channels do what it is they must.  But if it is...I think I should like it if you were able to see what new world rises in its wake._ **

Darkness smiled once more.  Then it turned around, and began to walk away into the darkness.  Fujiwara couldn’t move for a moment. And then, heart in his throat, he bolted.  He tried to run after Darkness— but the more he ran the farther that Darkness seemed to go.

“Wait!” he shouted.  “Wait!”

**_How curious,_ ** Darkness said, as it’s projection faded from sight, and for a moment, Fujiwara saw something like a lashing, scaley tail, and membranous wings.   **_I find, that somehow...I am excited to see what happens next._ **

Darkness faded entirely from sight, and then, so did Fujiwara’s vision.


	55. Gemini

Yusei clung to White Rose Dragon’s petals as the dragon dove, spinning and twisting around the blasts of energy that echoed around the two of them.  Overhead, a roar of red flame burst forth, and Jack swooped past on the back of Red Nova Dragon. The dragon screeched, tail lashing, as it attempted briefly to wrestle with Z-ONE’s giant metallic hands.

Shockingly, however, despite their difference in size, Z-ONE had absolutely no problems in wrenching Red Nova aside, sending the dragon spiralin away with Jack clinging onto its neck for dear life.  Yusei swore.

The air was rife with a haze of heat and fog, flashes of light echoing off of the wavering mist.  Pixie Veil Dragon had joined the battle, both twins riding atop it as it filled the air with its swirling mists.

Galeforce Dragon undulated downwards, trying to gnash at Z-ONE with its toothed beak, but Z-ONE rebuffed that, too.  It was all Yusei could do to hang on to White Rose at the moment, trying to hang on to his bearings.

Galeforce Dragon flew up alongside him on White Rose, and the two dragons tipped their wings together.  With all the grace of a ballerina, Aki leaped from the back of Galeforce Dragon and onto White Rose, climbing up by her petals to get to Yusei.

“What’s the plan here?” Aki shouted over the wind.  “Are we beating up your future self?”

“We need to find where he’s got Judai!” Yusei shouted back.  “I need Judai to—”

A horrible, wrenching pain yanked at his chest and for a moment, he felt as though his ribs were being split open from the inside.  Aki grabbed hold of his shoulders before he let go of White Rose while the dragon dove once again, and overhead, Yusei saw a flash of light.  It was like an awful, painful game of tug-of-war, like his heart was tied to one end of the rope and it was been yanked on as hard as it could.

With a cry, Yusei yanked back.  Everything snapped back to order, and a faint burn rested beneath his skin, as though he’d just been in the sun too long.

“What was that?” Aki said.

Yusei felt dizzy, like he was going to throw up.  For a brief moment in the air, he saw Z-ONE sag. But then he was back to full form, shoving Red Nova away from and nearly throwing the dragon and rider down to earth.  Lua thrust his arm into the air from the back of Pixie Veil, and the flash of warmth ran over Yusei’s arm too, as Power Tool Dragon broke through the veil of the air and attacked Z-ONE with a furious hum of its screwdriver.

Yusei pressed a hand to his chest and tried to breathe.  What had that been? He still felt something like a thread around his racing heart, something that was starting to squeeze, as though getting ready to yank again.  Yusei decided to yank back instead, using all of his mental might behind it.

His skin burned with the light that suddenly rose off his skin in a haze, and Z-ONE hesitated in midair, sagging, as though struggling to stay afloat.  Another yank back, and they reached an equilibrium once more, with Yusei’s skin still buzzing.

“It’s the Light,” Yusei gasped.  “He’s trying to take the Light from me, and I’m trying to take it from him.”

He felt like throwing up and almost doubled over.  Aki tightened her grip.

“What do we do?” she said.

“Distract him,” Yusei said.  “Don’t let up on him! We have the numbers; if we can distract him enough, I might be able to take his half of Light away from him, and we’ll find Judai!”

Aki nodded sharply, and took hold of White Rose’s petals.  Yusei’s Duel Disk burned slightly, but he didn’t even need to draw a card this time.  The veil between his world and the Duel Spirits world must have become incredibly thin, because all it took to bring out Stardust was the barest thought.

The silver dragon shrieked, and dove just beneath White Rose until they were almost flush stacked on top of each other.  Yusei rolled off of White Rose’s wing and caught lightly on the Stardust just beneath, sliding himself into the crook of Stardust’s neck as easily as though he’d done it a million times before.  

Stardust broke away from formation with White Rose, and White Rose took a high altitude.  The shining white dragon shrieked as it practically tackled Z-ONE. Galeforce Dragon took him from behind, harassing him with its claws and teeth.  Yusei took Stardust lower, so that Z-ONE wouldn’t be able to get close fast enough to distract him. He closed his eyes, tightened his grip on Stardust’s scales, and inhaled.

Then he grabbed hold of the thread in his heart and pulled as hard as he could.

However, this time, his future self didn’t use the same trick.

Yusei choked.  Images, flashes of light, horrible, choking feelings assaulted him, flashed behind his eyelids, grabbed him by the throat and squeezed.  He saw Judai, grabbing his shoulders, screaming something about how  _ the Light was eating him alive _ .  He saw a twisted body beneath a collapsed ceiling, an all too familiar bolt earring left discarded by the hand that poked out beneath the wreckage.  He saw a blood-stained white jacket, torn in his hands, the owner nowhere to be seen. He heard a scream, a voice that sounded like it could have been Fujiwara, screaming  _ your fault your fault your fault—  _

Yusei had to let go, and then the pain wracked through him as his future self took hold of the Light within him and tried to rip it out of him.  For just a moment, Yusei actually felt his heart stop.

He snapped back to life just in time, heart screaming, eyes wide.  Stardust twisted to balance him before he slid right off of its back.  Oh god. He’d...he’d died for just a moment there. If his future self took the Light from him, he would die.

His skin panged with the ghost pains of the images and emotions that his other self had forced him to feel.  Was that...was that his future? His friends dead and dying, Judai disillusioned, his own self gone mad? He felt sick.

Power Tool Dragon attempted to strike off a piece of Z-ONE’s armor, and the metal cracked off and spiraled towards the ground.  Yusei felt a jolt— not Z-ONE fighting him or trying to take the power, but rather, the sense of a bit of Z-ONE’s own Light coming through to him.  He’d taken a little bit when Z-ONE took damage.

Yusei felt a sudden, nervous sickness passing through him.

Was he going to have to kill his own future self in order to take back the Light from him?

Yusei was starting to sweat.  He urged Stardust upwards again with a tap of his knees and his mind against his dragon’s.  His friend’s dragons circled Z-ONE. They tried to lunge forward in sequence or in groups, but Z-ONE was managing to keep his distance, batting them back with his metallic hands.

Yusei didn’t know what he was planning to do.  He couldn’t get through to himself; he’d tried.  But he had to do something! Killing himself was...there had to be another way!  He had to be able to fix this!

_ Judai, where are you? _ he thought desperately.   _ I can’t do this by myself. _

He opened his mouth to shout, scream, something, anything, when Z-ONE’s metallic cocoon began to glow faintly.

Yusei didn’t have a chance to say a word when the air ripped open, and a dragon passed through.  His words shriveled up in his throat.

That was Stardust.

The Stardust beneath him shuddered, letting out a cry that might have been afraid, might have been angry.  The other Stardust only growled with a lashing tail. It was...it was bigger than Yusei’s Stardust. Lean muscle that his Stardust didn’t have rolled beneath its battered, scarred scales.  It was missing one eye from a horrible scar that ran down it, and its wings were tattered at the edges. This was a much, much older Stardust, one that had seen far more battles than Yusei’s younger dragon.

_ We can beat him _ , Yusei thought.   _ We can beat him still! _

The older Stardust roared, and launched itself forward.

It crashed through Galeforce Dragon and Pixie Veil like a bowling ball through pins, going straight for Yusei.  The young Stardust screamed with challenge, and Yusei could feel the buzz of its nervous excitement at getting a chance to fight its own older, more experienced self.

Then the dragons crashed together, and Yusei’s entire body rattled.

He hit his head against the back of Stardust’s neck from the impact.  His hands slipped off Stardust’s scale ridges and for a brief second, he thought he’d go tumbling straight off.

But his knees caught against the crook of Stardust’s wings and he managed to hang from them upside down as both Stardusts dove upwards, tangled with each other’s claws, their maws shrieking and gnashing at each other.

Yusei wrenched himself back up and threw his arms around Stardust’s neck.  Massive gusts of wind from the twin wingbeats blasted past him, threatening to throw him off once again.  

It wasn’t going to be enough— the other Stardust was just too big, and too strong!  His Stardust screamed when the jaw latched around the base of its neck, body flailing and convulsing.  Yusei grit his teeth and tried to kick the other Stardust’s nose, dislodge it from his dragon.

It let go and burst back, leaving Yusei and his Stardust limping in the air, his dragon bleeding silver from the base of the neck.  Yusei felt the pain in his own neck like a burning brand, and grit his teeth against it. 

The other Stardust opened its maw, and starlight began to collect at the back of its mouth.  Yusei swore. He squeezed his knees against Stardust and sent them both into a dive, missing the other Stardust’s Shooting Sonic by just a hair.

_ I don’t think we can beat him _ , Yusei thought with a panic.   _ We’re not strong enough to beat him.  He has too much experience on us. _

Would the numbers not even be enough?  Yusei managed to look up through the wind blowing his bangs in his eyes, trying to see how the others were doing.  His heart clenched.

Older versions of his friend’s dragons had appeared from the veil as well.  Had— had his future self collected their cards from them after they had died?  A Black Rose Dragon with ragged edged petals struck out at Aki’s White Rose, forcing them down.  A massively long Black-Feathered Dragon with matted feathers and a huge scar down the entire side of its body tangled up with Galeforce, the two barely keeping in the air.  A Red Dragon Archfiend with a torn wing and one arm missing fought Red Nova on perfectly even footing despite its missing limb. A much bigger Ancient Fairy had its tail wrapped around the tiny Pixie Veil, preventing it from flying away.  The only thing that was missing was a Power Tool, and Lua was sending his own dragon at Ancient Fairy, trying to beat it off of Luka and Pixie Veil.

_ The dragons are fighting with him _ , Yusei thought.   _ How can we beat odds like that?  And if they’re fighting with him....do they believe he’s right? _

He felt cold and hollow, and the world faded to a distant whine.  Stardust continued to dodge and whirl around the other Stardust, trying to use its smaller size to at least keep out of its grip, but Yusei felt like he couldn’t hear it, as though the world had gone silent.

Was he wrong?

Was he unable to win?

Was there no...no possible way to defeat himself?

Yusei felt sick.  It was all he could do to cling to Stardust.  He felt that insistent tug as Z-ONE prepared to make another assault on Yusei’s store of Light, to rip it out of him.

Maybe...Yusei should just let him.

* * *

Yusei took a step back from Judai, eyes wide, as though he’d been struck.

_ “You promised you’d help me,” _ he said.

“This isn’t you talking right now,” Judai said.  “I’m going to change this future of yours.”

Yusei shook his head, his whole body starting to tremble.

_ “I’m going to take Darkness, Judai, I have to.  You can’t leave this place now; you’re already inside Momentum.  I’m going to take Darkness and Light whether you agree or not.” _

Judai clenched his fists.

“I’m not going to let you do this to yourself!  I’m going to believe in you, and believe that the present you can change what you’ve become!  Trust yourself for just a moment! Trust  _ me! _ ”

_ “It’s too late, Judai.  It’s too late. I’ve almost taken Light.  The Ark Cradle is beginning to move.” _

The blinding prison around him rocked, like an elevator suddenly getting jerked to an off kilter stop, and Judai stumbled, falling to one knee.  Panic shot through him.

“What are you talking about?”

The light around him was starting to spin.

_ “The other me is starting to give up.  It’s hard to fight yourself, especially one with the experience that you don’t have.  Once he gives up fully, I’ll take what’s left of Light from him.” _

Yubel twisted inside him with a hiss and Judai suddenly felt like someone had grabbed him by the throat with two hands.  The light was spinning faster now, and even when he closed his eyes, he could see it moving and blurring, burning into the back of his eyelids.  His chest felt like it was about to explode.

Inside him, his Darkness writhed.  It punched out of his skin in several places, causing a scream to pull from his throat.

_ “Don’t fight it, Judai.  It will hurt,” _ Yusei soothed.

“N-no!  I won’t let you do this to yourself!”

_ “This is for the best.  Trust me, Judai, please.” _

“I do trust you!  But the you in front of me isn’t you!  I won’t let you take Darkness!”

He gasped as more shadows writhed free of his skin.  The light was dragging it out of him like a huge bunch of tweezers digging under his skin and trying to pull it free.  With effort, he dragged it back into himself, tried to pull it out of the light’s reach.

“Yusei,” he gasped.  “Yusei!”

_ “I’m right here, Judai, I’m not leaving you.” _

No, not this one, not this Yusei that he didn’t recognize, the one who was already too far gone.  He needed to reach for the one that was still within reach. The one who hadn’t given up yet. Judai struggled to his feet.

“Yusei!” he screamed.   _ “YUSEI!” _

The spinning light cracked.  He wasn’t sure if it was his imagination, or something else, but then his eyes were somewhere else, and the future Yusei wasn’t doing it.

Judai blinked and gasped.  He was in the air.

He heard a swear past his ears, and he turned.   _ Yusei _ .

He was the most beautiful thing that Judai had seen today, and relief crashed through him.  Wind blasted past Yusei’s face as he clung to Stardust’s back. It was as though Judai were sitting in the air right next to him, moving along with him, though he didn’t feel the wind or any of the sickness from the diving and spinning.  Judai reached out, wondering if he could even make himself known, wondering if this was just another awful memory like the ones that the future Yusei had shown him.

His hand curled around Yusei’s arm, and against all odds, Yusei looked up.  His eyes cast around, but they didn’t see Judai. He twitched, though, as though he could feel Judai’s hand.

“Yusei,” Judai said.  “Yusei, can you hear me?”

The relief and surprise that crashed over Yusei’s face, his real face, the real Yusei, made Judai feel so light that he felt like he could fly without a dragon.

“Judai?” Yusei said, and even over the wind and the roar of energy and dragons, Judai could hear him as clear as day.  “Judai, is that you?”

“I’m here,” Judai said.  “I’m right here, Yusei, I’m— somewhere here, I guess.”

Tears rolled from Judai’s eyes before he could stop them.  It felt like it had been years and years since he had heard Yusei’s voice.  He tightened his grip on Yusei’s arm.

Overhead there was a groaning, cracking sound, and then the faint whine of electricity.  Judai and Yusei both looked up.

The building complex they had come from was falling apart, pieces of it breaking off of it like a deadly rain.  The debris tumbled towards the city below— even as the city above seemed to be moving. Yusei swore.

“They’re moving,” he said.  “Judai, it’s going to crush the city.”

The gigantic hovering, upside down city slowly began to move downwards.  The complex continued to break apart, until something like a giant glowstick appeared in the middle of it.  A huge white tube, spinning quickly with light that shot rainbows out of it like a prism.

“What’s that?” Judai said.

“That’s Momentum,” Yusei said, going pale.  “I’ve never seen one so big.”

Judai’s heart quickened.

“Yusei, that’s where I am.  That’s where he put me. I’m inside there.”

“You’re inside  _ Momentum _ ?” Yusei said, swearing.  “Judai, don’t worry, I’ll get you out!”

He tried to send Stardust upward, but a second, bigger Stardust appeared with a shriek, blocking their way.  Stardust had to dive out of the way, but the other Stardust’s claws raked down its side and it screamed with pain, nearly jostling Yusei off its back.  Judai’s heart skipped a beat. If Yusei fell, if he hit the ground, this whole future would start all over again, and this time, there would be no going back.

“I can’t beat him!” Yusei said, looking pale.  “He’s too strong, Judai, I don’t know how to beat him!”

Judai tightened his grip on Yusei, but the image was starting to break up.

“You don’t have to beat him!” he shouted, and Yusei startled.  “He’s  _ you _ , Yusei!  He’s you from the future!  How do you go about changing your own future?”

Judai felt something grabbing his other arm, something that burned, and he choked.  The other Yusei was trying to drag him back inside Momentum. He clung to Yusei, tried to keep their connection going.

“Don’t beat yourself, Yusei— you just have to change your own future!  Don’t give up!”

“Judai, you’re breaking up, where are you?”

“I love you,” Judai said.  “I love you!! Don’t give up!  You can change the future!”

Judai was yanked back with a cry, his hand torn from Yusei.  The world went white and burning, and Judai could only sink beneath it.

_ Don’t give up _ , he thought, over and over.   _ Don’t give up. _


	56. Volans

Yusei took Stardust into another dive and weave, trying to get up towards the slowly descending Momentum.  Below him, another light was beginning to pour out of the Momentum in his own version of the city, as the two machines began to resonate.  He winced at the dissonant tones of something that might have been a song that cracked over his ears all at once— or was it coming from inside his head?  It sounded like an untuned record played backwards and with a skipping needle, clattering and clanging without rhythm or melody.

And yet, somehow, Yusei could pick out pieces that were familiar.  Notes and cadences that rang true, somewhere in the cacophony. That was the song— it was his and Judai’s song, the one that had led them to the dragons.

But it was wrong.  His future self was doing it _wrong_.

“You have to stop this!” he shouted, though his words were stolen by the wind.  “Please! You have to stop!”

His future self was too far away, still battling with the other Signers.  The skies were chaos, as the older, more scarred versions of the dragons took on the younger, smaller ones, and the Signers that rode them tried their best to keep out of harm’s way.  Lua was still atop Power Tool, struggling with the future Yusei himself. Power Tool tried to stab at him with its screwdriver again, but it was flung away by one metallic hand. Lua almost slipped free of his dragon, and Yusei choked.

But Power Tool twisted up and over to catch Lua’s sliding center of gravity, rebalancing him on its back.  Yusei breathed out a sigh of relief. He immediately choked on the sigh when the other Stardust slammed its whole body into his own Stardust, sending them spiraling from the sky with a shriek.

Stardust managed to snap its wings out and catch them, diving for momentum before shooting back up into the air.

 _We need to get up to my future self,_ he thought.   _The others can’t fight by themselves._

But what would he do once he got up there?  He needed _Judai_.  But Judai was trapped, imprisoned in that giant Momentum, and the future Stardust wouldn’t let them get close.  He’d have to fight his way through at this rate.

_“You don’t have to beat him!”_

The memory of Judai’s disembodied words in his ears snapped back to him.

“I don’t have to beat him,” he mouthed.  “He’s...me. How do I change my own future?”

His eyes lifted up towards the version of himself in the air.  His future self hadn’t made a grab for the Light again in a few minutes, but he could still feel the connection.  He had to think. How had he gotten to this future? It was the Light; the Light’s own Madness had overtaken him somehow.  And Yusei had the Light within him, now, itching and burning a bit at the inside of his skin. He needed to take what was left back from his future self, so that he could use it to balance with Judai, and—

Hang...on.

Yusei licked his wind dried lips while Stardut took another evasive dive.  He bent himself against the dragon’s neck and clung on. His future happened because he had the Light.  Because he took all of it into himself where he couldn’t handle it, and it ate him from the inside.

He felt a faint tug on his chest as his future self grabbed hold of the Light again, trying to pull it back.  If Yusei lost it, he would die. The Light was a part of him now. If it was taken, he’d die immediately; he’d already felt his heart stop once.

But...if he wanted to change his future...

He swallowed.  A panic washed over him.  This could be terrible. This could be exactly what caused his future in the first place somehow.  He could be falling into the same trap he’d already fallen into.

But clinging to control, and trying to be the winner, wasn’t working here.  That was what his future self was trying to do— to control everything, to take on all of the power in the world and use it to forcibly fix the universe.

Yusei inhaled sharply, feeling the tug again, .  He took off his belt, and used it to strap himself down to Stardust’s spikes, hoping that that would keep him on if he let go.   He felt his future self tugging on his power once again, insistent this time, causing Yusei’s vision to black out in places and his lungs to squeeze.  If he did this, he’d have to put all of his faith in his friends. He’d have to trust that they’d be able to handle this.

He smiled.  There was no one in the world that he would trust more.

 _Everyone_ , he thought at his friends above him.   _Good luck._

Then he closed his eyes, and let the Light go.

* * *

He grabbed hold of the Light.  His past self was young, and inexperienced.  He’d have to give it up eventually. Eventually, he’d have all of the Light back.  Momentum would meet Momentum, Judai’s power would flood to him as well, and he’d be at the center of the beginning of the new universe.  Then... _then_...he’d finally...

He pulled once more— and it snapped to him immediately, like a rope had been cut on the other end.  As though he’d been holding onto that rope, Yusei staggered backwards in the air from the lack of resistance.  And the Light poured in.

Oh— oh gods.  It was too bright, and burning.  He thought that he’d learned to control it after all this time, after all of Antinomy’s additions to his cocoon to make it easier to maintain control, but it was too much.  It was leaking out of him like a glowing waterfall, pouring from his frame.

Momentum began to scream, the tune that he’d never quite remembered how to perfect playing loud and screeching between his ears.

Somewhere in the burning, blinding pain, some small spark of him, the person he was, tried to flicker to life against the light.

 _Help_ , he gasped, for the first time in decades.  He’d never needed help before. Never wanted it— no one else could ever understand what he was trying to do, or manage the heat of his power.  They had all left in the end.

And yet, still, he called out.

_Help._

* * *

_Help_.

Lua gasped, jolting back in his seat on Power Tool’s back.  That...that had been Yusei’s voice, hadn’t it?

Somewhere below him, Stardust screeched.  Lua’s eyes jolted down. Both Stardusts had stopped moving in midair, only their wings beating.  The older Stardust’s head stared up at the metal cocoon with its one remaining eye. The younger Stardust was beginning to sag, slowly sinking in the air.  Lua couldn’t see Yusei on its back from this far up as more than a speck, but something made Lua flinch.

The cocoon of the future Yusei in front of him exploded with light.  Lua yelped and threw his hands over his eyes. He head the other dragons scream as they dove away, Power Tool flying backwards in the air to get away from the burst of heat.  The cocoon was practically dripping with light, the rays melting down its metal edges and pouring out of the sky. Momentum above them seemed to shudder. Its spin wobbled, as though it were getting ready to try and spin the other direction, but it couldn’t quite switch.

 _Oh no_ , Lua thought.

The future Yusei screamed inside its cocoon.  

 _Oh_ no.

The Light— the future Yusei had _all_ of the Light!  But that meant—

Lua’s eyes darted back down to the sagging Stardust with the tiny speck of Yusei clinging to its back.  Oh no. No!! Yusei couldn’t be— he couldn’t be dead!! Not Yusei, not Yusei, not Yusei!!

Lua pressed himself against Power Tool’s neck, feeling tears bubble to his eyes.  What could he do? What was he supposed to do now?? He had the Heart, but...but he couldn’t remember what all that meant!  All he knew was that he was supposed to give it back to the Dragon of Light, so that Yusei and Judai could help the two dragons live again and save the universe.  Yusei was dead! The future Yusei had all the Light, and he was dying too now because of it!! And Momentum was diving ever lower towards the one below, and with the knowing that the Heart gave him, Lua knew that if the two Momentums touched, then there would be no ReBalancing— there’d just be an end to the world.

What was he supposed to do?  He was...he was just a kid...

“Help,” he gasped.  “Help...someone. I don’t know what to do.”

He felt Power Tool vibrate beneath its plate.  It whirred its screwdriver, and a sound like a buzz saw hummed from its throat.  It tapped against its chest with its scoop claw. Lua peeked up from his tears.

“What?  What are you trying to tell me?”

Power Tool hummed and buzzed again, stretching out its whole body as long as it could.  It seemed to be straining, almost. Lua got the impression of a taut rope, ready to burst, as though Power Tool had projected that into his mind.

“You...you’re going to burst?”

An image of shattering metal came to him.

“You want us to break him??” Lua said with horror.

Power Tool buzzed and stretched its body out again, tail lashing.  Oh, Lua thought suddenly, feeling the warmth pulse through Power Tool’s metal plating.  Was...was there something underneath this armor...?

“You want me to take this armor off?”

Power Tool buzzed again, and this time it seemed excited.  Lua remembered the feel of the seal being torn off of his soul when Judai had removed it, the power that had flowed through him then.  Did...did Power Tool have a similar seal on it?

He swallowed.

“I don’t know how to do that,” he said.  “Power Tool, I don’t know! Tell me how to do it!”

This time, Power Tool sent him an image of something he recognized.  The full glowing Signer mark, the one that appeared on Yusei’s back when he summoned Majestic Dragon.

Lua inhaled.  

Oh.  That was right.  He wasn’t alone after all.

* * *

Luka ducked her eyes behind her bangs to hide from the burst of light.  What had just happened?

The older Ancient Fairy Dragon immediately stopped in its attack, its head swiveling back towards the light.  Luka took this as her chance to breathe, letting a few tears escape her. This other Ancient Fairy was somehow nothing like the one she knew, the one that had evolved into Pixie Veil that she now rode.  It didn’t respond to her calls or her pleas, ignoring her in favor of trying to ward her away from the future Yusei. She didn’t know what to do! Pixie Veil should be stronger than its original form of Ancient Fairy.

Her arm began to warm.  She gasped, looking down at her mark, which had begun to glow.  Her heart warmed in response as the mind link suddenly came to life.

 _“Everyone!! I need your help!!”_ Lua cried, his voice echoing in her head.

Luka didn’t hesitate.  She lifted her arm into the air, feeling a warmth grow around her hands.

“Take it, Lua!!” she cried.

The mark whispered off of her arm, and above her, a red glow began to spread over Power Tool.

She heard it, then.  The faint tune that played at the back of her mind, as though a single drum had been beating, before a faint tickle of piano keys joined them.  Her eyes opened up, and she was seeing out of Lua’s eyes. The warmth passed through her like a lovely blanket.

 _All right_ , she thought.   _Let’s fix this._

* * *

_“Everyone, I need your help!”_

Aki’s skin shuddered at the sound of Lua’s voice in her head.  She’d seen Yusei sag below her, and then the light had exploded overhead, and her throat was clogged with panic.  She urged White Rose Dragon downwards, towards Stardust. An ominous panic overcame her as she tried to get lower.  

The Black Rose that had been harassing her before hadn’t moved, still staring up at the cocoon of light over them.  This was her chance to get down to Yusei!

A warm crimson glow emanated against the backs of White Rose’s petals as she had them dive low, towards the struggling Stardust.  White Rose let out tendrils of its golden vines to gently wrap around Stardust’s torso, cradling it in the air. Aki peered over the top of White Rose.  Where was Yusei?

Yusei laid limp against Stardust, his back flopped backwards and his head lolled back.  His eyes were open, but they weren’t looking at anything. Only his belt strapping his legs to Stardust’s spines were keeping him there.

Aki choked.  No. He couldn’t be dead.  He couldn’t— he couldn’t be—

_“Aki-neesan!  Please! We can save him!”_

Aki swallowed back an anguished cry.  She thrust her arm into the air. She didn’t have any words to give Lua, as only the pain in her chest exploded along with the warmth on her arm, tears blurring her eyes as they were flung away in the wind.  Her body flooded with warmth, and she felt, for a moment, as though she were standing on solid ground with her feet planted in the ground— or was that the strength of her own power, flooding down to the far away earth and stabilizing her against it?

Her vision blurred, and then, instead of seeing through her own tear-blurred eyes, she was seeing the glowing cocoon where the future Yusei was encased in light, out of Lua’s eyes atop Power Tool’s back.  A shape was taking form around Lua in hazy red. Talons seemed to be superimposed over his own hands, and not his feet, as he looked down at himself and Akis saw the intense glow emanating from his chest.

She closed her eyes and let Lua take all of it.  This was all she had left. She would give everything she could.

* * *

Jack swore, trying to maintain flight.  Red Nova had taken such a beating. One of its wings was torn, and Jack felt it as though he had wings of his own.  His whole body ached with the scars and bruises inflicted by the other, older Red Dragon Archfiend. He snarled in unison with Red Nova.  Red Dragon Archfiend was _his_ dragon!  His soul! How could it betray him like this?

The dragon had stopped, however, hesitating in its attack when the cocoon flared with light.  And then Lua’s voice rang in his head: _“Everyone, I need your help!”_

Jack saw White Rose dive down towards the faltering Stardust, and his heart quickened.  He felt a strange, yawning ache in his chest even as his mark flared to life with warmth.  Something was wrong, something about the panic that flooded him from Aki’s part of the mind link made him feel like he couldn’t breathe.  What had gone wrong?

Lua shouldn’t have to take all of this! He gnashed his teeth with fury.  This wasn’t right! He was just a child! Jack needed to get closer to him, to support him physically!

_“Jack, it’s not just me!  If you all help me, I can do this!  We can do this!”_

Lua’s voice wavered, but it was still strong and determined.  Jack could almost see him in his mind; his tiny body clinging to the dragon, trembling, his face screwed up with that childish determination.  

He felt warmth against him, as though someone were grabbing his hand.  He almost imagined Luka’s tiny hand grabbing for his, Aki’s tentative fingers sliding into the other.  Lua was somewhere at the end of one of their hands, too. He grit his teeth. Well, he’d had worse chances than this— putting his faith into everyone together once more.  He thrust his arm into the air.

Heat exploded from his back, and for a moment, he _did_ have his own wings.  But then those wings joined Lua, and the glowing shape that was taking form around him, and when Jack opened his eyes from the flare of light once again, he was seeing out of Lua’s eyes— with Luka, and Aki there too.  They were almost complete. They just needed a little more balance...

* * *

Crow hesitated, his eyes lifting up towards the faraway gleam of light.  He’d had to dive low to avoid his future Black Winged Dragon, and Galeforce shuddered in anticipating of whatever was happening above.

_“Everyone, I need your help!”_

Crow tightened his hands into Galeforce’s feathers.  He could feel the heat again, getting warmer and warmer like a thick blanket warmed by the sun wrapped around him.  It didn’t feel like a burning sense— but a comforting one. One where he wasn’t alone. He inhaled.

“Well, friend,” he muttered to Galeforce.  “Let’s get this done, huh?”

Galeforce screeched in approval, and Crow rose his arm up over his head.

“Let’s get ‘im, guys!” he shouted.  “Let’s finish this damn adventure!”

His arm exploded with heat, and he felt it rush through his body, exploding out behind him like a tail sprouting from his back.  And then he felt the _real_ tail, the one in the glowing mirage that took shape around Lua.  He could feel all of them— Aki, in the talons. Luka, in the claws.  Jack, in the wings. And himself, in the tail. The light was converging down the sides of Power Tool Dragon, now, encasing the dragon in a thin layer of misty red that wavered like fog clinging to its metal.

Only one piece of the dragon left to go.  But Crow could sense everyone, all of the Signers within the Crimson Dragon now— and he could see what Aki had seen, and knew what Lua knew.

_How do we finish this if Yusei is dead?_

* * *

Pain.  There was only pain.  Or was it nothingness?  The nothingness was pain, too.

But...there was a spark.  Just the tiniest spark. He reached for it, the little glimmer of crimson that floated down through the nothing like a snowflake.  His hand clenched around it.

It didn’t stay in his hand.  Like an insect squirming free of his fist, it popped out, zooming up and around his arm.  He gasped when it stabbed into his forearm. But it grew into a light that glowed a faint red— a mark.  Oh, he remembered that mark...it was important...

A scream echoed through his mind and he gasped.  Panicking, he tried to move, to see, but it was as though his body didn’t exist save for the arm with the mark that he was staring at.  He needed to remember! He needed to remember where he was, and what he was...

Doing...here....

_Pain.  There was nothing but pain.  The Light was too much! He hadn’t thought it would be this much!  But he couldn’t hold it, it was leaking out of him, oh, god, he was going to ruin everything— he’d been so stupid!  Why hadn’t he been able to see through the blinding light in his head before? Why hadn’t he been able to see that his plans weren’t going to work?  He’d...he lost everything._

_Lost everyone._

_He was alone._

Yusei gasped.

He stood in a vast expanse of white.  As far as he could see, there was nothing but whiteness— no definition marred perfect blankness, no horizon or sky broke up the panorama.

But he did hear something.  A broken, croaked sob rose up from the white.

Slowly, Yusei turned around.

Two shapes rose out of the blankness like stones.  One was familiar: he recognized the half melted, vaguely humanoid mass that had been the Light, the one he saw when he and Judai entered Darkness.

The other was even more familiar.  He saw the spike of his own hair, though gone stark white and frayed.  His own wrinkled face was bent towards the ground, his own ragged looking body hunched over on hands and knees, shuddering for breath.  Tears rolled down his cheeks and dribbled onto the blank white floor.

It was too eerie to see his own older self.  He almost felt sick, like if he looked at him for too long his vision might blur and go sideways.  But he pushed it away. He clenched his fists.

He walked towards the two shapes, until he stood in front of them.

The Light turned to look at him, as far as it could, with a blank, eyeless face that was melting in globs that merged with the floor as soon as they dripped away.  His future self did not look. But Yusei saw his hands tighten on the floor.

“I suppose you are here to kill me,” he said softly.  “And take the Light back yourself.”

Yusei didn’t respond right away.  He was trying to remember how to formulate words, figure out what it was that his heart was wanting to say.  The Light’s blank face continued to stare at him.

“It is what I have done to you,” his future self said.  “Your body is dead. It is only through your connection with the Light, which I have taken from you, that keeps you alive within this space.  Your consciousness will fade entirely within the Light unless you take back what I have taken.”

His older self looked up at him, then, and Yusei couldn’t help but stare at the wrinkled husk that he himself would become, the metal that strained the edges of his skin where it replaced one whole eye and half of the upper part of his face.

“You were right,” his future self croaked.  “You were right all along. I couldn’t hold all of the Light.  And neither will you be able to.”

He smiled ruefully.

“It seems we, and the universe, will all die here today.  I sense that Darkness is already dead.”

Light looked down.  Yusei felt rather than heard the keen that emanated from somewhere in the world around them.  Yusei’s hands clenched slowly.

Then he knelt down.  His other self’s eye widened with surprise.

“You know,” he said.  “I don’t think it really hit me until now that you’re me.”

His other self’s lips parted.  Yusei couldn’t help but stare at him.  It was like looking into a mirror, albeit a mirror of one’s future.  He tried to imagine what it must have been like, to become this. The pain that he must have felt...losing everyone, one at a time, until he was all alone.  He remembered the feeling of being all alone. He could only imagine how much more it would hurt in the future...feeling as though you couldn’t do anything...struggling against the inevitability of the end while the lonely, broken Light and its grief and pain only compounded the pain.

Yusei didn’t realize he was crying until the tears fell onto his hands.  He sank down to a sitting position, pressing his hands against his knees.  He didn’t hold back the tears— and neither did his future self. As though perfect mirrors, the two both cried, the tears rolling one after the other onto the blank ground.

Yusei reached out, and grabbed his future self by the shoulders.  At first, the older man flinched. But then he slumped as he realized that Yusei was hugging him.

“I’m sorry,” he said.  “I’m sorry that you had to be all alone.  I was so angry at you— but I think I was really too afraid to realize that I _was_ you.  If I lived the future that you did...of course we would end up this way.”

His other self trembled, tears falling onto his shoulder.

“It’s too late,” he gasped.  “I’m sorry. It’s too late. I put this in motion— we put this in motion.  It’s all over.”

Yusei shook his head.

“Don’t worry,” he said.  “Your future won’t come to pass.”

He released his future self.  For a moment longer, he held his other self’s gaze.  He looked so tired. Yusei smiled.

He stood up, and looked down at the Light, still knelt in a melting lump.  It still stared at him with its blank face.

Yusei extended a hand to it.

“Don’t worry,” he said.  “I’ll only have to hold you by myself for a little while.”

The Light stared at him and didn’t move.  His other self inhaled.

“What do you plan to do?” he said.

Yusei smiled, but didn’t look away from the Light.  His arm was burning. His friends would need his mark, soon.

“There’s people out there still fighting,” he said.  “And there’s someone still up there, who can help me make this all right.”

He smiled again, and this time, he looked at both the Light and his future self.

“If we don’t do it alone,” he said, “then we can’t lose.”

The future Yusei’s lips parted.  His eyes filled with tears again.  Then he let out a single, coughing laugh.

“Perhaps if I had remembered that,” he whispered.

He sighed.  His eye closed.

“Very well,” he said.  “Good luck, then. I should hope that...the future where I exist never comes to pass.  Goodbye.”

“No,” Yusei said.  “Hello, for the first time.”

But his other self was already gone, wisped into white smoke that vanished among the blankness.  Light still stared up at him.

“Don’t worry,” Yusei said again.  “Judai is coming soon.”

Light stared.  

And then...slowly...it raised up one vaguely arm shaped appendage, and reached Yusei’s hand.

The world glowed warm and red around Yusei.  He closed his eyes, and released the mark on his arm while the Light fled into him.

 _Good luck, everyone,_ he thought, as the world vanished around him.   _I’ll see you on the other side._

* * *

It wasn’t enough!  Lua didn’t have enough!  

The red form of the Crimson Dragon flickered and gasped all around Lua.  The echo wasn’t enough— he was missing too big of a piece! Power Tool screeched insistently.

 _Yusei, please!_ he screamed in his mind.   _Yusei!_

If he was dead, could this even happen?  Would the future Yusei listen to Lua? Or would there be a miracle?

A stab of warmth.  Lua gasped— and then the red mist fell about his face, encasing him and Power Tool.  His back burned— he could feel every detail of the full mark of the Crimson Dragon on his back.

Power Tool’s armor cracked.  An earsplitting screech of splitting metal filled the air.  

Lua pushed the power down through his hands.  Aki, Luka, Jack, Crow, Yusei— their minds synced up with his.  He could do this! He could release Power Tool! This was the edge they needed!

 _Lua_ , a voice whispered past his ears.  He gasped.

“Yusei?” he said.  “Don’t worry, Yusei!  I’m coming!!”

_No.  Look up, Lua._

Lua looked up, through the haze of red mist that surrounded him, as Power Tool convulsed.  Look up at what? Oh— oh no. Lua felt his face whiten.

The looming city was so close now.  It was almost close enough to touch the tallest buildings, casting an awful shadow over Lua’s body.  He could see the spinning Momentum, its power washing over him like a raging whirlwind that threatened to steal away all of the aura he’d collected.

 _Judai’s inside,_ Yusei’s voice whispered— because it _was_ Yusei, Lua realized.

Yusei didn’t say anything more, but Lua understood.  His place wasn’t here, with the glowing cocoon. It was up there.

He urged Power Tool around.  The air thickened with heat as the dragon zoomed upward.  He heard Aki shrieking in his head, Jack shouting, Crow yelling to know where they were going now.  Only Luka gripped his hands in his mind, clinging for the ride. Lua didn’t have time to explain. Metal was falling off of Power Tool’s sides in a deadly rain of sharpnel, faster and faster, as they surged towards the upside down Momentum.

A field of energy seemed to fill the air as they flew towards it.  It was like trying to push through molasses, like gravity had gotten somehow stronger in the opposite direction.  The field of energy around Momentum didn’t want to let them near! Lua was going to need more power to get through!

He let out a wordless cry, and Power Tool matched him.  This was his last chance!

The metal shattered off around Power Tool’s head.  The cone of air that surrounded them pierced through the energy veil.

“This isn’t where we die!” Lua screamed.

The dragon beneath him, scaled and smooth, without a single metal plate in sight, roared with agreement.  Rings of crimson energy sprouted around them like they were going through Synchro gates, more and more gates one after the other, faster and faster until they were in a whirlwind of crimson energy.  Lua felt it as though he were the dragon himself, his friends all alongside him with wings flashing, tail lashing, claws and talons striking, maw biting, and heart racing.

He felt it.  Judai’s life force inside Momentum.  He let out one more wild cry, and his dragon, pulsing with vibrant life, roared, too— shuddering the signal of life inside Momentum.

“Lifestream Dragon!” Lua shouted.  “Break it open!”

Lifestream Dragon’s maw opened wide, and the warmth in Lua’s heart jolted.  The fireball of crimson energy left them in a rush, streaking towards Momentum.

And Lua’s eyes closed, and he went with it.

* * *

The world of light around Judai shattered.

Judai swore, throwing his hands over his head at the shards of light that cascaded down his head.  But— but he could see something through the cracks! A city far below him!

He tried to move, and then swore as he stumbled backwards out of the way of a falling shard.  The image of Yusei, still within the light, flickered and didn’t move even when a shard passed through him.

“I’m leaving,” Judai shouted.  

To his surprise, the image of Yusei smiled.  

“I’m sorry for all the trouble I’ve caused,” he said.  “Take care of the younger me— I hope that this time, I’ll take care of you better, too.”

And with that, the image of Yusei put his hand against Judai’s chest, and gently pushed him out of Momentum.

The air screamed past his ears as he fell.  Above him, the world of Light could still be seen through cracks in the breaking apart Momentum.  He could, for a moment, see the future Yusei’s image within Momentum’s energy. But then it flickered, and vanished, and Judai was falling.

The wind buffeted and blinded him, and he twisted, spinning, spinning, spinning as he fell.  He managed to twist so that he was falling forward, his arms crossed in front of him to try and see past the wind.  Yusei! Where was Yusei?

Falling.  It was so familiar that it made him freeze with panic.  He was falling again.

Wait— wait!

He saw Stardust!

“Yubel!” he screamed.

In response, his wings exploded from his back.  He was falling too fast to catch himself without breaking his wings, but he tilted them forwards, catching the air just enough to angle himself towards the dragon.  It slumped in midair, barely keeping aflight with its neck sagged down.

Yusei!  He could see Yusei!

“Yusei!” he screamed through the wind, though the air took his voice with him.  “Yusei!”

He saw the small, sagging lump on Stardust’s back that must be Yusei.  He saw his body slip free of the dragon, saw Stardust make a weak attempt to grab Yusei with its teeth, but then the body slipped out of reach, and plummeted towards the ground.

Falling.  Yusei was falling again.  Judai felt everything in his mind stop.

No.  No, wait.  Not this time!  It can’t be this time!  He promised, he promised that this time he would make it okay!  That this time he would fix things!

“Yusei!” he screamed.  “Yusei!”

He plummeted.  Falling, spinning through the air, trying to use his wings to angle his descent.  But Yusei was so far away! Would he be able to reach him in time? He angled his body like a knife to fall as fast as he could, arms stretched and reaching.

He was getting closer— but so was the ground.  Judai strained— couldn’t he fall any faster?

He saw Yusei’s body twitch as it fell.  Saw his arms spasm, his head look upwards from where he fell headfirst towards the ground.

“J-Judai!” he shouted over the wind.  “Judai!”

“Yusei!”

Yusei twisted in the air.  He reached towards Judai. He stretched his arm as far as it would go.  Judai forced himself downwards, faster, faster, faster!

He promised!  They promised!  That this time, it would be all right!

They were falling together.  They were both going to fall.

Judai reached his hand out as far as it would go.  His fingers brushed the tips of Yusei’s. Sweat poured down his face and behind him.  Yusei’s face tensed, eyes wide but determined. He reached harder. They were close enough to grab hands!

Their hands met, and clasped.  Judai yanked on Yusei, smacking the two of them together chest to chest.

The ground was right there.

Everything stopped.


	57. Libra

_In the beginning, there was Nothing.  And Nothing was the only thing in the world._

_The only thing in the world was a lonely thing to be.  And so Nothing was lonely. Though it knew not what it was lonely for._

_“It is because I am the only thing that exists,” Nothing reasoned._

_But there could be no other existence as long as the world was only Nothing.  So Nothing decided to make Something._

_That something was a star._

_Nothing could not be in a world where there was Something, and so, Nothing began to die.  Before Nothing faded away, however, it made one wish upon that star._

_“May you not be lonely, and may nothing in this world ever be truly alone.”_

_When Nothing died, the star remained.  As the star produced light, it also caused darkness, for there could be no light without darkness to see it against._

_And so from the remains of Nothing, more Something arose: Light, and Darkness._

_Darkness curled around the Light, and Light lived within the star.  For a time, one did not know of the other, for Light could not see through its own blinding rays, and Darkness could see nothing outside its shadows.  For a time, both Light and Darkness thought themselves the only thing in the universe._

_And so both began to feel lonely.  When Light cried, its glowing tears fell from the star and into the Darkness.  And Darkness saw it, and began to wonder where it had come from._

_And so it happened that Darkness and Light met for the first time, and both realized that they were not, in fact, alone.  Such joy arose from this meeting, that when Darkness and Light first mixed together, more stars were born, and more and more, until the entire world was studded in light-giving stars among the darkness, where both would mix and glow together.  For neither was alone, and they could not help but express their joy in filling the world with the symbols of it._

_The twin children of Nothing began to fill the universe with Something.  Not just light and darkness filled the space, as more and more stars were born, but a new concept arose from the two of them: time.  And time drew long and vast, marking the hours of their togetherness, and that which they made._

_From stars grew worlds, and from worlds, grew lives.  And Light and Darkness both made and nurtured the lives that grew in their universe, so that the wish of Nothing would be fulfilled, and no one would ever be alone._

_But the minds of those that grew within the Light and Darkness changed them, as the light changes the darkness and the darkness changes the light.  Things they never knew before came to pass within their union: things that they had no names for. And Light grew something that it had never known before._

_A Heart._  

_With a Heart, the Light felt all that those who lived among it felt, things it had never known before: Anger.  Sadness. Happiness. Love. And with those feelings, came pain._

_Darkness grew troubled at the pain that Light felt.  It knew none of these feelings, save for one: Love. Love for Light, the one that had filled the loneliness it had felt when it thought it was the only thing in the world.  But with Light’s Heart, it felt everything and everyone, and loved and hurt from it all. And Darkness could not abide by Light’s pain, and so it begged. It begged Light to give up what it had grown, so as not to feel the pain, for though Darkness did not understand it, its love let it feel the same pain as Light.  So that they could return to what they had once been, two forces, made so that the other would not be alone._

_Light agreed, and it carved the Heart from itself, and cast it among the world of mortals.  Darkness and Light both believed they would return to their idler days, making stars and being together._

_But without its Heart, Light forgot.  It forgot everything, quickly, losing bits and pieces that it thought were its essence.  It began to wisp away. It began to go Mad._

_In its Mad desire to regain what it knew was lost, without remembering_ what _had been lost, it searched and destroyed and tore the world around it to pieces, searching, searching, searching for the thing it knew was gone but could not name.  In horror, Darkness had no choice. It fought the Light back from the world they had made, and in so doing, split the Light into many pieces. The pieces fell among the world of mortals, and what remained grew small and weak, forgetting more and more save for the desire to regain what it lost._

_And, over time, Darkness forgot, as well.  Darkness, too, forgot what it was that Light was missing, forgot what they both desired, and began to grow complacent and dull._

_What was left within the Madness was simply sorrow._

_For what had been broken was gone forever, and what was gone had been forgotten.  And can what is forgotten ever truly be regained again?_

* * *

Yusei opened his eyes very slowly.  Was he...dead?

He felt a faint shuddering in his arms, and tightened instinctively.  A thin, ragged breath caused his vision to clear all at once, and he gasped, air flooding his lungs as though he hadn’t breathed in days.

The first thing he saw was Judai, his own face pressed against Judai’s hair and feeling the soft tickle against the marker on his cheek.  He felt Judai’s body twitch with its normal functions, felt him inhaling and his heart beating. He must be alive then, right? He was trying to remember what had just happened.

They had been...falling, hadn’t they?  His eyes widened as he remembered. That’s right!  They had both fallen from the sky, and Judai had tried to reach him, and they’d grabbed hold just before they hit the ground —

But...where were they now?

“Judai,” he whispered.  “Judai.”

“I’m here,” Judai whispered, snaking his arms tighter around Yusei.  “Are you okay?”

Yusei twitched himself experimentally.  There was no pain anywhere.

“I seem to be alive,” he said.

Judai let out a gasping laugh.

“Thank god.  I think I am too.”

It was all coming back to him, now, the events of the past few hours.  Had it really only been hours since he’d been separated from Judai? It felt like decades — and he pressed his face against Judai’s neck and held him as tightly as he could, as Judai squeezed back with a ferocious hug.

“I thought you were gone forever,” Judai whispered.  “I thought...I’d lose you again.”

Yusei licked his dry, chapped lips.  He ran one hand up to cradle the back of Judai’s head and run his fingers through his hair.  He didn’t want to let go, ever. He wanted to cling to Judai for the rest of time, so that he could remind himself that they weren’t apart.

“I heard what happened to me,” Yusei whispered.  “What I turned into. I talked to the other me.”

Judai stiffened.

“I’m sorry,” he said.  “It was — ”

“If you’re about to say it was your fault, Yuki Judai, then I’m going to have to clock you,” Yusei said.

Judai let out a warbled laugh and buried his face into Yusei’s chest.  Yusei could feel the tears staining his shirt.

“I missed you,” he whispered, voice cracking.  “I just want to be with you, Yusei. I don’t know where we are, but can we stay here for a minute, and not think about anything else?”

That sounded like an excellent plan to Yusei.  However, his eyes finally flickered up on their own, and his lips parted.

“Maybe...we should have a look at where we are in the first place,” he finally pushed from his lips.

Curious, Judai’s head peeked up over the top of Yusei’s shoulder.  And then, mouth dropping open, he drifted out of Yusei’s grip, their hands sliding together and clinging instead.

It looked as though the whole of the universe spread before them.

There was no discernible ground; it was almost like standing on top of a perfect glass surface, or a completely still lake.  The ground mirrored the sky perfectly, all the way to the horizon...and the _view_.  Stars claimed the whole of the sky, sparkling in constellations and clouds and clusters.  A massive, blue-tinted galaxy spread down to the horizon, and then was mirrored against the floor.  When Yusei looked down, he saw his own reflection looking back at him from the perfectly smooth ground.

“Are we...alive?” he finally breathed, and his voice seemed to echo into the nothing.

“I’ve never seen a world like this,” Judai breathed.

_“That’s because this one is yours.”_

Both boys startled, and Yusei yanked on Judai’s hand to draw him protectively against him even as Judai tried to step in front of him.

Among the stars when they turned around, its reflection glowing in the endless mirror below, was a dragon.

It was, Yusei thought, one of the most beautiful things he’d ever seen, even in its fractured state.  It was long, sinuous, and white, glowing faintly as though it were made of starlight instead of having scales.  Three pairs of feathered wings sprouted along its snake like back, and flares of light like sunspots danced off its back in a mane.  But it was visibly fractured, with cracks running down its body, and whole chunks missing through which you could see the stars on the other side.

“Light?” Yusei breathed.  “Is that you?”

The dragon dipped its head.

_“For the first time, we speak in full.  My voice finally reaches.”_

This light didn’t feel as burning as the one before had.  It was gentle and cool, like a summer breeze off the ocean.

“What are you doing here?” Yusei asked.

_“I came along with you.”_

Yusei felt a faint warmth grow in his chest, and he put his hand over his heart.  A light glimmered between his fingers, from beneath his skin.

“What did you mean, this is our world?” Judai said. “What is this place?”

_“I meant what I said.  This world is yours. It is the one that you made, just as the world where you once met Darkness and I were our worlds.”_

Yusei looked around with awe at the stars that dotted ‘their world.’  It was so beautiful...had he and Judai really made this somehow?

“But now what?” Judai said.  “How did we get here? And what are we supposed to do now?”

_“Peace, child.”_

Light made a faint rumbling sound, and Yusei realized with a start that it was a laugh.

_“You are very much like Darkness, child.  Always worrying.”_

Judai actually flushed a beet red.  He mumbled something incoherent, but didn’t repeat it.

Light sighed, then, and rested its long body down among the stars.  Its reflection met with its body, forming a seamless connection.

_“For the time being, we are waiting.  For there is one more piece who must join us.  Do not worry, little Darkness. He will be here soon.”_

“Do you mean...Darkness?” Yusei asked.

Light hummed.  It was half the tune, Yusei realized.  Just the melody without the harmony, the song that had started their journey to get here.

_“No, little Light.  Darkness has already passed away.”_

Judai’s mouth dropped open.

“Passed _away_ ?” he said.  “How does — how can Darkness _die_?”

A faint panic seized Yusei’s stomach, too.  What was that supposed to mean? Darkness was _dead_?

 _“I live a bit longer from your spirit, little Light,”_ Light said.   _“But I will join Darkness soon.”_

“Wait,” Yusei gasped. “Wait!  I thought we were supposed to...we were supposed to be the Channels, to fix you!  To Rebalance or something!”

_“Perhaps once that would have been our path, child.  But we were already too far gone. A new solution will be implemented, if you both have the will, and the strength.  And the love.”_

It blinked at them with its large, black eyes, eyes that seemed endlessly deep.  Yusei felt dizzy. After figuring all of this out this far...now it was too late?

“How can something like you die?” Judai said, voice wavering.  “The world can’t exist without you!”

_“No.  It cannot exist without our strength.  But without us? It will learn to live.”_

“I don’t understand,” Judai said.

Light raised its head, looking off at something in the distance that neither of them could see.

 _“The last piece arrives,”_ it said.   _“Perhaps more understanding will come with it.”_

* * *

Judai trembled against Yusei.  Darkness was dead? How was that possible?  He leaned against Yusei’s sturdy form, trying to take some comfort and reassurance in it, but Yusei was just as nervous.  Judai had thought...with Yusei’s help, they would have healed Light and Darkness, and set the world right again. But if Darkness was dead, then...what?

He heard a strange squeak, like sneakers on the glass floor.  Sneakers?

Judai and Yusei turned as one, and Judai’s heart stopped.

“Lua,” he gasped.  “What are you doing here?”

Lua stood in front of him, his hair out of his ponytail, his tiny body glowing a deep crimson marked with circuit-like lines of darker red all down his arms and face, and probably beneath his clothes, too.  But he smiled, as brightly as he had the last time Judai had seen him at ease.

“Hey, I made it!” he said, scurrying over to them.  “Just in time, I think! The Ark Cradle is falling on the city, so we need to undo the future real fast!”

“Lua, what are you talking about?” Yusei said.  “What are you doing here?”

Lua put his hand on his chest.  And then, carefully, he pulled it away — and with his hand, came a fist sized ball of pulsing red energy, glowing like the Crimson Dragon.  Judai felt his stomach lurch. That was the Heart.

“I’m supposed to give this back to you,” Lua said, turning towards Light.

Judai wasn’t imagining it.  Lua’s hands were trembling. He looked pale beneath his crimson glow, like he was about to pass out.  A faint nervousness passed over his eyes.

Judai and Yusei reached forward at the same time, grabbing hold of Lua and pulling him back.

“No!” Judai said.  “If you do that — that will kill you, right?”

Lua squirmed in their grips.

“I have to!  I have to give it back, so that Light will be whole again!”

“But Light just said...” Yusei said.

He looked up at Light with a plea, as though asking it mentally not to take Lua.

“You’ll kill him,” Judai said to Light.  “If you take it back, you’ll kill him!”

“It’s the way to save everyone!” Lua cried, still squirming.  “It’s the way to fix it! This is what I was supposed to do all this time!  I couldn’t hold it forever anyway, I would have died from it anyway!”

Judai wouldn’t let go.  Why didn’t Light say something?  Why didn’t it do something? His head rushed with panic and tears.

And then Light let out another rumbling sound that Judai had come to realize was a laugh.

 _“Such exuberant children,”_ it said.   _“I remember when I was so alight with feeling.”_

Light leaned its large, fuzzy nose down to the ground, resting it before them so that it was nearly eye level — though its head was so big, that its eyes were still a good four feet above them.

_“Tell me, little ones.  What function does a Heart fulfill?”_

The question was so startling, that for a moment, no one answered.  Lua hung from Yusei and Judai’s grip, still holding the glowing heart in one hand.

“It...pumps blood?” he guessed.

Light rumbled again, eyes half lidding in mirth.

_“Not that kind of heart.  I mean the essence of what you humans call Heart.”_

Judai swallowed.

“It loves,” he whispered.

Light hummed in agreement.

_“It does that, and more. It feels.  It hurts. It experiences. And yes, it loves.”_

Light blew out through its nose, ruffling everyone’s hair.

_“And what happens to love when you give it away?”_

Yusei answered this time.

“It never disappears,” he said softly.  “Martha always said...the more you love, the more you have to give.”

Light let out another whuffling that tickled their faces and hair.

 _“I am breaking apart,”_ it said.   _“And so I have no more wisdom to give.”_

It was breaking apart, Judai thought with a shock.  Starting from its tail, it was starting to fragment into dust, disappearing.

“Wait!” Judai shouted.  “Wait!”

_“You are smart, and kind.  Would that I had more to offer, I would give it.  But I will believe in you.”_

It was gone up to its torso then, and it closed its eyes.

_“I ask much of you, and for that I apologize.  But I believe it will end for the best.”_

“Wait!” Lua cried, trying to hold the heart up in the air.  “Y-your heart!! I can still save you!”

_“Goodbye, little ones, though we did not speak for long.  I trust that neither of you will ever make the mistake that we did, and cut away your hearts.”_

It let out a heavy sigh, and its head turned to dust, and faded away into the stars.  Judai felt the last words in his bones rather than hear them.

_“Dear Darkness, let us see what awaits us on the other side of existence, shall we?”_

And then, the three of them were completely alone.

Lua slumped in Yusei and Judai’s arms, tears rolling down his face.

“I was ready,” he mumbled.  “I was ready to do it...but I couldn’t save it.”

“I don’t think anything we could have done would have saved them,” Yusei said, squeezing Lua lightly.

Judai’s head roared with anxiety.  But what now? If Light and Darkness were both dead, then...

Their world tilted.  Lua screamed, Yusei swore, Judai planted his feet to try and keep them all upright.  

“The stars!” Yusei shouted, and Judai looked up.  The stars were going out. One by one, they were winking away, but darkness didn’t remain in their place — instead, there was nothing.  His whole body roiled at the unnaturalness of the sight, his eyes couldn’t comprehend the idea that there was no existence in that spot.

“The universe!” Lua cried.  “It’s falling apart!”

“What do we do?” Judai shouted.

Yusei’s eyes stared at the stars, and the nothing.  His lips parted.

He exhaled, then, and his eyes found Judai, even as the world began to shake and disappear around them.

“I know what they want,” he whispered. “Judai. You and I have to do it.”

“Do what?” Judai said, but he had already figured it out.

“We have to become it.  We have to become the new Light and Darkness.”

As soon as the words were in the air, Judai felt his heart stop.  He knew how true they were. But how? How did they...do that? He reached for Yusei’s hand, and Yusei took it.

“I won’t let go,” Judai whispered.

“I won’t either,” Yusei said back.

And then Lua shot straight up.

“I know how to help,” he said, determined.  He turned towards them, and held the heart up between them.  “Grab on!”

Judai flinched.

“Lua, no,” he said.  “You’ll — ”

“I don’t think I will!” Lua said.  “You heart Light! When it said that love never disappears if you give it away.”

He held the Heart up between them, a glowing mass of crimson that spilled light through his fingers.

“This is enough love to build a universe,” he said, voice shaking.  “I believe in you guys. I think you can do it.”

Judai looked at Yusei.  Yusei looked back. Despite the world falling to pieces around them, Judai never wanted to look away from those eyes.  He wanted to get lost in them for the rest of what little time they had left.

Yusei’s lips pressed together with determination.

“Let’s do it,” he said.

Judai found himself nodding.  Yusei reached for the Heart, and put his hand on top of it.  Judai put his own hand on top of Yusei’s.

The fire burned through his arm, and he winced, but he didn’t let go.

“I’m never letting go of you,” he said, keeping his eyes on Yusei through the pain.

“I’m never leaving you,” Yusei said, wincing and going pale.

The world was crumbling faster now, and the nothing pressed in.  Judai leaned forward towards Yusei, and Yusei leaned too, hands still on top of the Heart.

“I love you,” Yusei said.

“I love you,” Judai said.

Their lips met.

For a moment, the nothing enfolded them.

And then, the world expanded.

* * *

“Lua!  Lua, wake up!”

Lua blinked awake.  Luka’s tear stained face looked down at him, and her eyes bulged when she saw him.  Her arms flung around his shoulders and squeezed. Weakly, he patted her back.

“I’m okay,” he said.  “I’m okay.”

“Not for much longer,” Jack growled somewhere outside his vision.  “We have to get out of here!”

Lua looked up past Luka’s trembling shoulder.  Overhead, the upside down city was still descending on top of them.  In spite of the situation, Lua smiled. He patted Luka’s back.

“Don’t worry,” he said.  “Close your eyes, and when we wake up, the world will be all right again. Yusei and Judai are taking care of it.”

“What?” Luka gasped.

Lua closed his eyes again.  And past his eyelids, the world suddenly flashed.  There was a roaring hum that filled the air, the sound of gravity turning on its end.

And then came the silence.


	58. Phoenix

“I hate this.”

“Okay, Mr. Edgelord.  Drink your coffee.”

Jack scowled at Crow, but he took a long sip of his coffee.  Crow nursed his own cup, staring at the inky brown without drinking it.  Carly rolled her eyes at the both of them, but she let herself lean back against Jack’s shoulder, staring up at the ceiling.

Aki did not sit.  She just looked out the open garage, staring at at it as she leaned back against the couch, as though it might make sense the longer she looked.  It was way too hot to drink coffee, anyway.

Heat rose off the ground in faint, mirage like waves, and her mind wandered.  She could hear the distant noises of people talking and laughing in the square up above, the sound of dishes clinking softly at the nearby outdoor cafe.  The faint noise of the television buzzed behind her, but no one was watching it. Luka poked the remote every once in a while to change the channel. Lua just sprawled out on the rest of the couch next to her, staring at nothing.

The sky was clear, without a cloud to mar the perfect blue, and despite the heat, a faint breeze ruffled through the open garage.  Their bikes were parked in a neat row in front of her. Jack’s Wheel of Fortune, Crow’s Blackbird, Aki’s bike she still hadn’t named, the twins’ Duel Boards.

Seeing them all together like that made it all the more visible that one was missing.

A bird sang outside, and Aki squelched the sudden urge to go punch it.

“Anyone got anything stronger than coffee?” she said, only half joking.

“Crow has vodka under his bed,” Carly said.  “Good stuff too.”

Crow spluttered.

“That’s for a special occasion!” he said.  “How do you know about it!”

Carly pulled her glasses down to the bridge of her nose, looking at him over the rims.

“I see  _ everything _ ,” she said, in a fake spooky voice.  Lua giggled, and Luka let out a snort.  Aki couldn’t bring herself to crack more than half a tired grin though.

She sighed, letting her head flop back so that she was staring at the ceiling, her hands pressing back into the back of the couch.

“It’s over then, huh?” she said.  “That’s it? That’s how it ends?”

No one answered her.  There was only the breeze, the people’s voices outside, and the empty silence that stretched between them.  Luka changed the channel again.

_ “And in Neo-Domino’s landmark first election since Zero Reverse, Jeager Grober has won over sixty percent of the vote.  The inauguration will take place — ” _

“Can’t believe I voted for him,” Crow said.

“You didn’t have to,” said Carly.

“Oh yeah, and I should have voted for the other guy instead?  He was a maniac. At least Jeager’s a maniac that we know.”

Avoiding the real topics.  That’s all they’d done for the past few days.  Aki sighed. It wasn’t like she was talking about it, either.  They’d all tried their best to just...exist. But it was harder and harder with every day that passed.

_ “So you’re telling me they’re just...gone?” Aki had asked incredulously, staring at everyone. _

_ It had been a shock — one moment, staring at a city crashing down on top of them, the next, standing in Yusei’s house and looking up at a sky unmarred by upside down cities.  Walking outside to an untouched city, with people walking around, going to work, getting ice cream, as though nothing had ever happened. _

_ It had been an even bigger shock to open up the newspaper and see that the WRGP had been reported on as though it had been an absolutely normal tournament.  Apparently Team 5D’s, with D-Wheelers Jack Atlas, Crow Hogan, and Aki Izayoi, had defeated Team Spotlight in the last match of the tournament. Never mind that Aki hadn’t participated in that duel, or that none of them had even  _ heard _ of Team Spotlight before. _

_ Not a single piece referencing the destruction caused by Team New World, or their participation at all.  Not a single word on the city that had almost crushed them. As though it had never happened. _

_ Not a single word, either, about Fudo Yusei or Yuki Judai. _

_ “The records are scrubbed clean,” Manjoume said, shaking his head and looking uncomfortable.  “It’s not like we’re happy about it either.” _

_ “What do you mean, the records are scrubbed clean?” Jack growled, fists clenching on the table.  “You mean this is a cover up?” _

_ “I mean that it never happened,” Asuka said softly.  “At least, as far as everyone outside our group is concerned.” _

_ Luka let out a tiny sob, and Lua awkwardly patted her back. _

_ “So...Yusei...” Carly started, looking pale. _

_ Asuka, Manjoume, Shou, and Johan all exchanged a glance. _

_ “Judai seems to be gone, too,” Johan said, his voice cracking.  “I found our graduation photo and...he’s not in it. His diploma isn’t recorded at Duel Academia.” _

_ “Yusei’s identification files and prison records are gone, too,” Shou said.  _

_ Aki’s head spun, and she heard Crow kick a table, hard enough to knock one of the legs out of place. _

_ “So they’re gone?” she whispered.  “They just...don’t exist anymore?” _

_ “After all of that, that’s what they had to do?” Crow swore, his voice cracking.  “Fuck! It’s not worth it!” _

_ “They must have done what they thought they had to,” said Asuka.  “There was no Light or Darkness in the world for a moment, there.” _

_ “So they became it?” Manjoume said with a groan, resting his head on the table.  “I always knew Judai was stupid.” _

_ “They’re not gone,” Asuka said, reassuringly as she put her hand gently on Aki’s arm.  “If what we think happened actually happened...then they’re both all around us, now. They’re keeping the world alive.” _

_ Aki’s eyes prickled with tears, and she knew that if she looked up, Jack and Crow would be fighting back their own tears.  Luka was already crying, and Aki reached out numbly to put a hand on her shoulder. _

_ “They’ll be back.” _

_ Everyone looked up, trying to figure out who had spoken.  Finally, all eyes turned to Lua, the only one who didn’t look upset.  He sat on a chair, kicking his legs back and forth. _

_ “Lua...” Asuka started. _

_ “No, I’m sure of it,” Lua said.  “They just had to go and make sure everything was organized.  They’ll be back as soon as they get it all figured out.” _

_ He put his hand over his heart, lifting up the arm that no longer had a mark on it.  Aki tried not to think about her own bare arm. _

_ “I was only there helping for a little bit, until they got the hang of it,” he said.  “But I’m sure they’ll be back. After all, I thought I’d be the one who disappeared after all of this.  But I’m still here.” _

_ He smiled up at them, and despite the lack of mark on her arm, she somehow felt a warmth there, as though that connection had sparked once more. _

_ “They’ll be back,” he said.  “Just believe in them a little longer.” _

Jack slammed his fist down on the table, spilling his coffee and making Crow’s slosh out onto his hands.  Crow swore and jumped up, waving his hands back and forth.

“What’s the big idea!” he said.

“I’m tired of waiting on them!” Jack snapped.  “Damn those two, thinking they can just waltz out and make us all put a pause on everything!”

“Jack, calm down,” Aki said, half-heartedly.

“I will not!  I don’t care how long it takes them to get back, I’m not going to sit here on my ass and wait for them when there’s life to be lived out there!”

He stood up, jostling Carly back to her own seat where she quickly fixed her glasses, blushing.  He shoved open part of the zipper of his jacket so that he could reach into the inside pocket, pulling out an envelope and smacking it onto the table.

“What’s that?  Are you resigning?” Aki said.

“This is an invitation from the Platinum Leagues,” Jack said.  “They want me to join their league.”

Crow spluttered, and Aki couldn’t help but let out a low whistle.

“Wow, Jack, congratulations,” she said.

“That’s one of the biggest riding leagues in the goddamn world!” Crow spluttered.

Jack shot Crow a self satisfied grin, still holding the envelope down on the table.

“I’m not waiting to live my life before those two get back,” he said then, his smile fading.  “Today is the last day I can accept or reject. I’m accepting.”

“You’re leaving?” Luka said, her voice cracking.

To his credit, Jack’s expression wavered a bit.  But he closed his eyes.

“The world is saved,” he said.  “We’re done. We can live our lives now.”

Luka’s lip trembled slightly, and Aki turned around and reached over the couch to hold her shoulders.  She shook her head then, though, wiping at her eyes with her thumbs.

“No, that’s good,” she said.  “I think Yusei and Judai-kun would have wanted that.  Us to keep going while we wait. Instead of standing still.”

Aki squeezed Luka’s shoulders.  Her mind wandered to her own envelope, at home on the table.

“I got accepted into the University of Tokyo,” she said, so quietly at first that she was sure no one heard her.

All eyes snapped to her though, and a few mouths dropped open.

“Aki-nee, that’s awesome!!” Lua said, hopping up and bouncing on the couch.  “Good job!”

“Are you going to go?  What are you going to study?” Carly said, leaning forward over the table.

Aki considered both questions for a moment.  Then she smiled.

“Yes, and I don’t know,” she said, feeling lighter as soon as she said it.  “Oh wow. It’s kind of fun having only half a plan. I think we’ll see how it goes.”

“Go, Aki-nee!” Lua said, punching the air.

“Well...fuck you guys!  I didn’t even think about it!” Crow said, going red-faced.  “How am I supposed to one up all that!”

He was blushing furiously, and he rubbed the back of his neck.

“Crow, you’re keeping something back,” Aki said, grinning at him and crossing her eyes.

“How am I supposed to follow up Platinum Leagues and University of Tokyo!  Dammit! I shoulda said something first,” Crow groaned. He flopped back into his chair and stared mournfully at what remained of his coffee.  “Martha called me yesterday and said that there’s an old mechanic’s shop that just went up for sale next to the new foster home she’s running. Today’s the day they want me to put a down payment on it — I have the savings to cover it.”

“Crow, that’s incredible,” Aki said.  “You’re going to have your own shop?”

Crow smiled tentatively.

“Y-yeah.  I thought I’d start up building and modifying D-Wheels again.  Do what I’m good at, ya know?”

“It seems a passable career for you,” Jack sniffed.

“Oy, don’t make me clock you,” Crow said.  “Or throw this coffee in your face.”

Jack scowled at him, and Crow made a bad imitation of the expression back at him.

“I guess we can’t really do anything fun and exciting yet,” Lua said, slowing down in his bouncing.  “Since we’re not done with school.”

“Yeah,” Luka said.  “But...we can find some other adventures to have in the meantime, right?  So that we have a lot to tell them when they get back!”

“Yeah!” said Lua.  “I’m definitely gonna beat my record for wins this year!  Yusei’s gonna be so proud!”

“I think I’m finally going to join the drama club,” Luka said, blushing.  “They’ve been trying to get me to join up for a long time.”

“You’ll be great!  I’ll come to all of your shows!  And videotape ‘em so that Yusei and Judai can see when they get back!”

Lua jumped on Luka to give her a hug, and Luka giggled, hugging him back.

“Um, this seems like a bad time to bring this up but uh,” Carly said, fumbling.  “I actually got fired yesterday. I missed too many days at work.”

She flushed when all of the faces turned towards her.

“It’s okay though!  I have some, uh, contacts with this investigative journalist, and we’ve been talking about some other stuff I could do with her over video call, and also Johan-san told me that they could maybe use my help at his school sometimes since I’m getting the hang of my sight, so, uh!  I’m gonna do some cool stuff too!”

She fumbled, waving her hands around and flustering.

Jack took her face in both hands and kissed her hard on the mouth.  For a second, she froze up. Then her own hands grabbed Jack’s face, and Lua made a loud gagging sound.

“Hey, there are kids here!” he said, pretending to cover Luka’s eyes.  Luka sighed and let it happen.

Aki coughed, feeling actually a little embarrassed, and the two broke apart, beet red and panting.

“Dammit!  I was supposed to do this someplace else!  I had a fucking plan!” Jack said. “I don’t even have the — fuck!  Crow, give me one of your nuts!”

“Excuse me?” Crow said.

“The metal tool piece, you idiot!  I know you have extras in your pocket for when your fucking earrings break!”

Crow stared at him for a moment, and then reached into his pocket and pulled out a handful of metal nuts.  Jack snatched them from his hand, grabbed one and dumped the rest on the table and then grabbed Carly’s hand.

Carly’s eyes widened and Aki gasped in spite of herself when he dropped to one knee, holding the metal nut like a ring.

“Carly Nagisa, I’ve had enough of being separated from you for stupid reasons, most of which are my own fucking fault, and I’m tired of making mistakes.  Do you want to come with me?”

“Oh my god,” Carly said.  Jack flushed.

“I told you, I had a better plan for this, but now I’m mad and I’m going to do it now, so I’m sorry if it’s not — ”

Carly threw her arms around his neck and squealed, an incoherent stream of  _ YESYESYESYESYES _ babbling from her mouth. Jack threw his arms around her and the two pretty much collapsed in a heap on the floor.  Aki laughed, but a warmth spread through her. It seemed like...Jack was right. They were going to keep on living, even if it hurt.  Yusei and Judai would want that for them...

“Hey, if you’re going to be planning that wedding anytime soon, though, please talk to us first.  It’d be super embarrassing if we accidentally put ours on the same day.”

“Oh, shut up,” Jack growled.

But then he stopped.  Actually, the whole room did.  As one, every set of eyes turned towards the door.

“Judai,” Yusei said, from where he was standing on the stairs, holding Judai’s hand.  “That was not the entrance we agreed on.”

Judai just laughed, swinging their hands back and forth.

“They gave me an opening!  I couldn’t not take them up on it!”

Yusei rolled his eyes, and then, all at once, it crashed down on the room exactly who was talking to them.

“Yusei!!”

“Judai!”

“Judai-kun!”

“Fuck you, Yusei!”

It was hard to tell what was what in the sudden crashing of limbs and tangle of bodies as everyone converged together at once, hugging and laughing and crying in a pile of euphoria.

“Sorry about the delay,” Yusei said.  “We had a  _ lot _ of work to do.”

“Man, wait til you hear all about it!” said Judai.  “It was crazy!”

“You damn idiots,” Aki laughed through her tears.  “Welcome home, dumbasses.”

The two young men, still holding hands even in the tangle of hugs, just grinned.

“We’re home,” Yusei said.  “Thank you all for waiting.”


	59. Octans

“No, no, no!  That goes over there, on that table!  Honestly! Don’t you know how to read a perfectly clear diagram?”

The men carrying the centerpieces looked at each other, and then shrugged helplessly at Aki’s intense eyes.  They started pulling it back down to put it where she indicated.

“Did you get this fired up helping plan Carly and Jack’s wedding?” Judai laughed, leaning his elbows against the nearest table.

Aki glowered at him, folding her arms against her chest.

“Jack wouldn’t let me touch his plans, which he should have — because if I had been in charge, the  _ incident _ wouldn’t have happened.”

“Carly seemed to enjoy herself, at least,” Yusei said.

Aki rolled her eyes, and then whirled on the movers, who were setting the tables up on the grass.

“What did I tell you?  That goes over there!”

She stormed off, leaving Judai giggling so hard that he fell face first onto the nearest table.

“You okay?” Yusei laughed.

“I’m just giddy,” said Judai.  “It’s all a lot, isn’t it?”

Yusei reached for Judai’s hand.  His gloves were tucked into his pocket, so they both felt the faint spark when their bare skin touched, saw the little sparks of black and white glimmers pass between their fingers when he rubbed his thumb over the back of Judai’s hand.

“It’s all been a lot,” Yusei said.  “Are you nervous?”

“Of course not.”

Yusei felt the faint, nervous shudder pass through Judai, though, and he had to smile.

“Judai, we just had to put a whole universe back in order, and you’re nervous about wedding plans?”

“Shush!  It’s — it’s a lot more...everything than I expected!!”

He stuck his tongue out at Yusei, head still flat on the table.

“Ugh!  Everyone’s coming too early!” Aki’s voice rose over the commotion of set up.  “Don’t you all know how to read invitations!”

“Should we calm her down?” Judai asked.

“I don’t think she wants to be calmed down,” Yusei said with a laugh.

Judai’s eyes wandered out over the space, grass bobbing lightly in the breeze.  Aki had pretty much taken charge of the planning, but it looked beautiful. There were pretty white morning glories entwined in every bit of the decor, looking like stars on the black and gray tablecloths and table settings.  It was like a field of stars in the middle of the day, spread out beneath the clear blue sky. In the distance, the skyline of Neo Domino City sparkled like jewels.

There were already people milling about the grass between the tables, and Yusei could hear the faint laughter and chatter of people talking amongst themselves.

“How do we know so many people?” Yusei said.

“That seems to be our thing.  We collect people,” Judai said, finally lifting off the table.  “Hey, that must be Crow’s new boyfriend. We should go embarrass him.”

Yusei laughed, and might have agreed if he had gotten the chance.

“Judai!  You look so...weird,” Asuka said, laughing as she threw her arms around him.

“Hey!  I look fine in a suit,” Judai grumbled, but he hugged her back with a grin.

“I’m just not used to seeing you in anything other than that ragged old jacket,” Manjoume said, coming up behind them with Shou trailing behind, pushing Ryo in his wheelchair in front of him.

“Kaiser!  You made it!”

“I’m feeling all right today,” Ryo said with a weak smile, gripping Judai’s hand when he broke free of Asuka.  “I can’t exactly miss the once in a lifetime occurrence of Judai Yuki getting married.”

“Why is everyone teasing me!  Did you all think I was gonna be a spinster?”

The group all exchanged a glance before breaking into giggles, and Judai flustered, flapping his hands and blushing at them.  Yusei laughed. He reached for Judai’s hand again and curled his fingers into it, feeling the faint tremor of sadness through their mind link.  He was happy to see his friends, Yusei could tell, but he felt horribly sad, too, about how he’d missed out on growing up with them.

Still, Judai thought, he’d chosen to come back to this time after they’d finished their work.  And he wouldn’t regret it. Not while he was holding Yusei’s hand.

A hand dropped down on each of their shoulders, squeezing them next to each other in a hug from behind.

“Aren’t the grooms not supposed to see each other before they get married!” Johan said in their ears with a loud laugh.

“Oy, oy, no hogging the groom!” came Crow’s voice, just before he tackled Yusei and pulled him away to give him a fierce noogie.  “Best man coming in!”

“Crow!  Aki’s going to kill you if you mess up my hair,” Yusei laughed.

“Hey, I dueled Jack and Kiryu fair and square to be your best man, which means I get the privilege of noogieing you whenever I want!”

“I still think you cheated,” drawled a familiar voice.

Yusei extracted himself from Crow with a laugh as Kiryu wandered over, raising his eyebrows and grinning at Yusei.  Yusei gripped his arm and pulled him in for a hug.

“I’m glad you could make it,” he said.

“I’m not about to not be here for your damn wedding,” Kiryu said.  “And since I didn’t get to be your best man, I made sure to one up Crow  _ and _ Jack with the wedding present, so get ready to be wowed.”

“Hmph!  As if you could one up me at anything!” Jack said, appearing suddenly behind Kiryu and making him jump and swear.

Carly, holding his hand, rolled her eyes and laughed.  “Don’t let him say anything. I had to help him pick something because he had a shortout in the store trying to pick.”

“We weren’t supposed to talk about that!” Jack said, flushing.

Johan slung his arm over Judai’s shoulders, sending him a mischievous grin when Judai grumbled at how much taller Johan was than him.  Ruby squeaked, leaping from Johan’s shoulder to Judai’s to snuggle him, as Winged Kuriboh landed on Johan’s head and twittered.

Something fat and warm smacked into Judai’s legs, and he looked down.

“Pharaoh??” he said, voice leaping with excitement.  He scooped the big cat up like a baby, and it yawned, sitting comfortably in his arms.  “No way! It’s been thirty years!! How are you still around, old boy?”

“That cat is clearly an eldritch horror,” said another familiar voice, and Judai’s eyes leaped up with a huge grin to see O’Brien.  Not just him, either, but Edo and Saiou were wandering over along with him.

“O’Brien!!  Edo! Saiou!  You guys came?”

“Considering you all left me out of your saving the world scheme this time, I probably shouldn’t have,” Edo said with a sniff.  “But since Saiou insisted, we’re here.”

“He wanted to come,” Saiou said in a fake whisper.

Edo smacked him gently on the shoulder, blushing.  Pharaoh squirmed to get down, and Judai let him, the big cat padding back over to O’Brien and purring.

“Have you taken care of Pharaoh this whole time?”

“He’s taken care of himself,” O’Brien said.  “I swear, that cat’s not mortal. It followed me out into the bush and scared off  _ tigers. _ ”

_ “Well, Pharaoh is a very special cat.” _

Judai jumped at the spectral voice, and Yusei looked up curiously.

“No way,” Judai said, gaping at the spectral form that appeared over Pharaoh.  “Daitokuji? You still haven’t passed on??”

_ “Sounded too boring,” _ Daitokuji said cheerily.   _ “Besides, aren’t you and Yusei gods now?  Shouldn’t you know things like that?” _

“Don’t tease me,” Judai grumbled.

“Yusei!!!  Judai!!”

Yusei oofed at the sudden impact when Lua threw himself at him, from about three feet away.  He managed to catch him before he tumbled backwards again, and the younger boy giggled, looking already rumpled in his little suit.

“Lua!! Take this more seriously, you’re going to lose the rings!!” Luka said, running to meet him, looking flushed.  She quickly tried to smooth out the rumples in her pale pink dress from running, fixing the flowers that had begun to tumble out of her basket.

“Nuh-uh!  I’ve got them right here,” Lua said, patting his breast pocket.  “Don’t worry, Yusei! I’ll protect them with my life!”

“Your life is more important than the rings,” Yusei said, shaking his head with a smile.

“What do you people think when the invitation says the wedding starts at noon?” Aki’s voice clamored over the group, appearing with flashing eyes and thrown up hands.  “You are crowding the people I need to organize! Shoo, shoo!”

She shoved Jack with both hands, and he swore when he almost fell over.  Carly smothered her laugh behind her hand, and then scurried out of the way of Aki.

“Jack, you’re not even wearing the right suit!” Aki said.  “If you’re going to be one of the groomsmen, wear the suit I sent you!  Even if you’re not best man you should take this seriously!”

“It was  _ itchy _ ,” Jack growled.

“Well, change now!  I’m not having you walk out there in that damn stupid coat of yours!  Yusei wore the right suit for  _ your _ wedding!”

Judai tried his goddamn best not to laugh by turning his face into Yusei’s shoulder and smothering the giggles.  Yusei’s chest shook a bit too, and he slung his arm over Judai’s shoulder so that he could hide his own laughter in Judai’s hair.

“All right, actual people involved in the ceremony, I need you in the changing room,” Aki yelled.  “People who are here way too early, just — find a seat and get out from underfoot!”

“She’s taking this pretty seriously, at least,” Yusei said.

“I would be a mess right now, so I’m glad we’re not planning it ourselves,” Judai said.

Yusei squeezed his shoulders.

“Are you a mess right now?” he asked quietly.

Judai hesitated, just holding on to Yusei’s waist and breathing in his scent.  He smelled like a fresher cologne, but Judai could still catch the more familiar scent of motorcycle grease beneath.

“No,” he said finally.  “I’m really happy. That we’re here, you know.  That we made it, and everyone’s around us, and we’re all together again.  And that...wow. This is happening.”

Yusei squeezed him a little tighter, smiling.  He quietly sent a melody over their connection — not the one that had brought them this far, but a new one.  The one that they were making together. It made Judai relax in his arms.

“Okay, okay, can I get you all to move this way,” Aki was still calling.

Luka dropped her flower basket, and the flowers went flying in a rain of petals over the ground.  Aki started to swear, but then as Judai looked up and saw what Luka was staring at, so did Aki. And for a moment, the whole group fell quiet.

A very, very nervous looking Fujiwara stood about ten feet away from their group.  He looked...better, Judai though. He was still the thirty-years-older version from before, but his hair looked neater, he was wearing a nice button up and beige pants rather than the black cloak, and his eyes were completely clear, a normal light purple without a hint of black.  He didn’t quite look at any of them, however, twisting his foot in the dirt, hands in nervous fists at his sides.

“I...” he started, his voice sounding clear and his own for the first time since Judai had started this crazy adventure.  “I know I probably shouldn’t have come. That no one probably wanted to see me.”

Yusei looked at Luka and Lua to try and gauge their reaction, but he could only see their backs.  They looked a little stiff, shoulders trembling. Fujiwara’s eyes wandered to his children, and he licked his lips nervously.

“I just...it took me a while to find my way back after Darkness let go of me, and then I wasn’t sure how to...I just wanted to see you all, at least once.  I’ll...leave...”

Luka moved first.  She bolted across the space and tackled Fujiwara around the waist, clinging to him and almost knocking him over.  Lua moved just a second after her, joining the tackle and actually taking all three of them down this time in a heap of hugs and tears and incoherent babbling.

“I’m sorry, I said such awful things to you!” Lua babbled.

“Oh, god, Lua, no, you were right —”

“I’m sorry, I was so mad at you for leaving —” Luka cried.

“And it’s okay, you had the right to, I was —”

They just sat there in a heap for a while, Fujiwara clinging to his children, and the twins clinging back.  Tears streamed down his face before he buried it in their hair, squeezing them tighter.

He only looked up when Judai, Yusei still holding his hand, walked over to him, standing over him.  Judai hesiated, seeing the nerves pass over Fujiwara’s eyes. He couldn’t forget everything they’d had to go through because of him.  Maybe if he’d just trusted them sooner, the loops could have ended faster.

It was Yusei who reached his hand out first, smiling.

“It’s a brand new world out here,” he said.  “Why don’t we act like it?”

The complete and utter gratitude that crashed over Fujiwara’s face was enough to melt the last of Judai’s doubs.  Fujiwara accepted Yusei’s hand, and he and the twins carefully pulled themselves up. The twins still clung to his shirt, putting wrinkles in the fabric, and Fujiwara put his arms lightly over their shoulders.

“Sorry,” he said.  “I seem to have stolen a bit of the spotlight away from the actual reason for the day.”

“No worries,” Judai said with a grin.  “We’ll steal it back.”

The smile that tickled Fujiwara’s lips was tentative, but it was enough.  This world, this new world, would be enough. Judai squeezed Yusei’s hand, and Yusei squeezed back.

* * *

“And, uh,” Ushio fumbled, trying to pretend he wasn’t looking at his index cards as much as he was, and proceeding to drop them.  “Fuck. Whatever, this is the point where you guys say your vows, so do that.”

He bent down to pick up the fallen cards, and Judai bit back a laugh.

_ Why’d we pick Ushio to officiate again? _ he asked Yusei mentally.

_ Because it was funny.  Now you go first. _

Judai reached out and took Yusei’s hands in his, holding both of them across the thin space between them.  But there really wasn’t any space between them, not anymore. Not time, nor space, nor even the boundaries of reality could separate them.  He could feel the tickle of their shared world, always just a breath away to join the stars where they had rebegun the universe together. He closed his eyes, and sensed the aura of Yusei’s light gently weaving together with his shadows.

“Fudo Yusei,” he said.  “We’ve been to hell and back again together.  We’ve lived a hundred loops over and over again, and we’ve fallen in love over and over.  This is the last, and the best time, that we have fallen in love.”

He opened his eyes, and saw Yusei smiling at him, saw his beautiful blue eyes sparkling in the sunlight.

“But I want to keep falling in love with you every day,” Judai said.  “So, no matter where the world goes from here, I’ll be by your side until time itself ends.”

Yusei smiled, and closed his eyes, too.  He could see their stars, the light and shadow mixing together among the glassy sky and mirrored floor, in the world that they would one day call their final home.  But for now, he was here. He was holding Judai’s hands, and his friends were all around him, happy and alive and living the lives they always dreamed of.

“Yuki Judai,” he said.  “You’ve followed me time and time again, protected me and everyone.  This time, I want to make sure I’m walking beside you, and that we are protecting each other.”

He opened his eyes, leaving the stars behind for the ones in Judai’s warm brown eyes instead.

“We’ve fought together this long, and I never want to fight apart again,” he said.  “So, no matter where this new world goes from here, I’ll be by your side until time itself ends.”

Before Ushio could say anything in regards to the vows, Lua squeaked and leaped forward with his little pillow with the rings, almost tripping.

Judai and Yusei both caught him with one hand against his shoulders, and he blushed.  Yusei and Judai couldn’t help but grin.

“I didn’t even tell you to come up yet,” Ushio groaned.  In the stands, Aki put her head in her hands, but that might have been because she was crying.  “Whatever. Anyway, take the rings now.”

Judai took the small silver ring with the obsidian black stone, and slid it onto Yusei’s finger.  Yusei took the one with the white stone and put it onto Judai’s. Their magic sparked inside the stones for a moment, making them glow.

“So now, I guess, with the power vested in me by Neo-Domino — though last I heard you guys are fucking gods now or some bullshit, so I don’t know why you need a person to give you permission — y’all are married.  Kiss or something.”

Yusei and Judai couldn’t help but laugh.  But then Yusei leaned in, and Judai leaned to meet him, and when their lips met, the whole world took on a shimmer.  

In the stands, Crow let out a whoop.  Kiryu yelled too as though to outdo him, and then everyone was clapping and shouting and Yusei and Judai had to break apart to start laughing, their foreheads falling against each other.

“Ready for a couple thousand years of boring?” Yusei said.

“It’s never gonna be boring with the two of us in the same dimension,” Judai said.

And they kissed again, to the warm melody of their friends cheering.

Among the clouds, like a ghost of mist, two dragons watched with their tails curled together.  Their heads tilted in, snuggling against each other and letting out the faintest breath. And then, together, they faded away.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that's...the end. I'm actually a little shocked that we made it. 
> 
> This story has been a long time in the making, one of my longest running ever. It started on FFN, started cross-posting to Ao3 about halfway through and then...we made it to the end. This story has been one of my longest running, longest written, and most well known fics I've ever written. For a time it was the one that I was known for; I'd have people here and there mention the fic to me within the fandom without realizing that I was the author, and it was a surreal experience.
> 
> For those of you that might have been here from the beginning, you might already know that this story started life as a gift to a very dear friend of mine, and as far as I'm concerned, this story is still for him, first and foremost. So dude, I hope you know how much I care about you, and I'm so glad that life has been treating you better lately. You're still one of the best friends I've ever had, and I'm looking forward to many more years with you.
> 
> And to the rest of you, who read this story, one that I never expected to write let alone grow so popular, _thank you._ I can't express my gratitude enough. For every comment, review, message, question, and excitement towards this story, thank you. Without all of you, who read from the beginning, who joined us later, who stuck with it through the long dry spells of no updates to the point where I could finally update regularly, this story would not have made it this far. It would not have lasted through the almost three years it took to complete. I cannot thank you all enough. You guys are the ones that make writing these things worthwhile more than anything.
> 
> So thank you, all of you. I hope I'll see you all again on my other works sometime, because I plan to keep writing for as long as I'm breathing. I hope this ending was a good one, and I hope it finds you well. Until we see each other again, then, I wish you nothing but happiness. You all deserve it.
> 
> -Homura Bakura


End file.
